Active Shooter Scare On Villanova Campus Was ‘Cruel Hoax’

Police responded to an active shooter situation at Villanova University on Thursday afternoon, as new students were moving into their dorms at the private Catholic research university west of Philadelphia. Villanova President Rev. Peter M. Donohue said that the reported shooting was a “cruel hoax,” adding that no one was injured, NBC 10 Philadelphia reported.

At around 4:30 p.m. ET, while many students and parents were attending mass, an alert went out from Villanova instructing everyone to shelter in place and stay away from the Law School’s Scarpa Hall. A video posted on X showed a representative for Villanova telling a group of people who had taken shelter that the active shooter situation was “supposedly in the library at the law school.”

The campus was placed on lockdown over the incident just hours after Villanova Law posted that it hosted a “successful” orientation for students that was followed by a picnic. The school year is set to begin next week.

“Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued with the news of a possible shooter at the Law School,” Donohue said. “Mercifully, no one was injured, and we now know that it was a cruel hoax—there was no active shooter, no injuries and no evidence of firearms present on campus. While that is a blessing and relief, I know today’s events have shaken our entire community.”

????BREAKING: An active shooter alert has been reported at Villanova University

pic.twitter.com/tzqwX9s1BK

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 21, 2025

 

shooting at villanova university, we are hiding and locked down in a utility closet…. an HR rep just came to clarify the situation pic.twitter.com/Ukw42WEHg3

— Liam Zieg (@liamzieg) August 21, 2025

The active shooting hoax at Villanova came hours after police lifted an active shooter lockdown at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga after finding no evidence of a threat.

This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.