Villanova University President says active shooter incident was a 'cruel hoax'

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Villanova University issued an active shooter incident warning via their NOVA Alert system Thursday afternoon. According to university officials, the warning was a false alarm triggered by a fraudulent, anonymous report of an active shooter at the Charles Widger School of Law.

Villanova President issues statement confirming authenticity of first email

8:15 p.m.

Rev. Peter Donohue, president of Villanova University, emailed the campus community Thursday evening to confirm that the email he sent earlier in the afternoon was authentic.

The full statement is included below:

"In an effort to send something quickly, I am hearing concern that the last message I sent about the “all clear” was not authentic. I assure you it was. Campus is all clear, and you no longer need to s