Villanova University active shooter hoax caller sought by FBI, local authorities
Things are back to normal after a call reporting an active shooter caused chaos on Villanova University's campus.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Gov. Josh Shapiro is offering state resources as federal authorities join the search for the person behind the hoax.
"People have to understand this is not a joke," said Radnor Township Police Superintendent Christopher Flanagan.
The false report came in around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, just as new students were attending an orientation Mass. Villanova senior Ava Petrosky was part of a group singing at the ceremony when she saw people in the crowd begin to run.
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"Honestly, at that moment I thought, 'I'm gonna die,'" she recalled. Petrosky joined the crowd and ran into a barricade, unsure how she would escape.
Police said the caller told 911 operators there was a shooter inside one of the campus buildings.
"There was a specific description of somebody with an AK rifle," said DA Stollsteimer.
Authorities are now working to identify the caller.
"We're at the part of the investigation," said Stollsteimer, "where we're gonna find out who did this and hold them accountable."
Stollsteimer explained that the tactic used is known as "swatting," a false report intended to prompt a large police response.
It's very dangerous," he said, adding that swatting is both a state and federal crime.
"People think there's no harm, no foul, and that's 100% inaccurate," said Flanagan.
Flanagan said his department is working with the district attorney's office and the FBI to find the caller. Agencies from across the region responded to the original report.
"They were all heroes that day," he said of local authorities.
While the incident turned out to be a hoax, the fear students experienced was very real.
"OK, it was a hoax, but that was real for us," Petrosky said. "We were literally running for our lives."
Authorities have not yet disclosed whether the caller sounded like a man or woman, or where the call originated.
A similar call was reported Thursday at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Local and federal authorities are investigating whether the two incidents are connected.
