USA TODAY National
Unconfirmed reports of an active shooter at the University of South Carolina and a second false report at Villanova University briefly caused panic on Aug. 24 as law enforcement searched through the two campuses before issuing an all-clear.
Students at the University of South Carolina, a public university located in the state's capital city of Columbia, were told to shelter in place shortly after 6:30 p.m. local time after an active shooter was reported near the school's library. A campus alert later stated that there was no evidence of a shooter as police continued to investigate, and an all-clear was issued.
"There is no ongoing emergency at this time; you no longer need to shelter in place," according to a campus alert sent at around 8:11 p.m. local time. "The Thomas Cooper Library building remains closed until further notice."
About seven hours earlier, Villanova University, a private Catholic research university in suburban Philadelphia, was targeted in a second hoax report of an active shooter that was directed at a student dormitory, according to the Radnor Township Police Department. Police said in a social media post that they were working to clear the campus and restore normal operations after determining that the report was false.
The two incidents occurred just days after there were shooting scares at both Villanova and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Aug. 21. School and local officials had called the false active shooter reports at Villanova a "cruel hoax," while an all-clear was issued for the University of Tennessee shortly after the initial report.
Instances of swatting have been plaguing the nation for years, with fake shooting threats frightening the public and forcing schools, hospitals, grocery stores, office buildings, and airports into temporary lockdowns. These false reports are intended to draw a heavy law enforcement response to a hoax victim.
Estimated swatting incidents jumped from 400 in 2011 to more than 1,000 in 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League. From January 2023 to June 2024, more than 800 incidents of swatting were recorded at elementary, middle, and high schools across the country, according to the K-12 School Shootings Database, created by a University of Central Florida doctoral student in response to the Parkland High School shooting in 2018.
University of South Carolina probing unconfirmed active shooter reports
Jeff Stensland, a spokesperson for the University of South Carolina, told USA TODAY that campus police had received a report of gunfire at the Thomas Cooper Library on the main Columbia campus at around 6:30 p.m. local time.
A public safety alert was then sent to the campus community, warning people to avoid the area and shelter in place, according to Stensland. An initial alert from the campus described a potential suspect as a white man, about 6 feet tall, and wearing black pants.
The university later said police were searching affected buildings, and that emergency medical services treated "a couple of students with minor injuries that occurred during evacuation." Stensland said law enforcement had immediately responded to the scene and found no evidence that a shooting had occurred.
"Videos circulating on social media purporting to show a suspect carrying a firearm are false," Stensland said. "There have been false gunfire reports at universities across the country in recent days and tonight’s incident remains under investigation."
The campus is now under normal operations and the library will reopen at 7:30 a.m. local time on Aug. 25, according to Stensland.
Second false report of an active shooter at Villanova University
Students were evacuated from Austin Hall, a student dormitory at Villanova, earlier on Aug. 24 after authorities were notified of a potential active shooter in the area, according to the Radnor Township Police Department. Police said the call was later confirmed to be false, and an investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
Following the incident, the school's president, Rev. Peter M. Donohue, said in a letter to the campus community that students had received "another flurry of Nova Alerts about another possible incident on campus." Donohue sought to assuage fears, noting that the campus was safe and there was "no evidence of a legitimate threat to our community."
He added that there will be an increased police and public safety presence out of an abundance of caution on Aug. 24 and "for the immediate future." Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies were also continuing to investigate the Aug. 21 and Aug. 24 incidents, according to Donohue.
"The call we received today about a possible threat was also unfounded," Donohue wrote in the letter. "That said, I understand how alarming it is to receive these alerts, but we take every call seriously and take the utmost precaution to ensure the safety of our community. We will always be overly cautious and vigilant when it comes to campus safety."
On Aug. 21, authorities received a 911 call at around 4:30 p.m. local time reporting that there was an active shooter in a Villanova law school building and at least one victim was wounded. Shortly after, a campus alert was issued warning students: "ACTIVE SHOOTER on VU campus. Move to secure location. Lock/barricade doors."
The incident, later deemed a hoax, prompted a massive police response as students and families scrambled to find shelter on the first day of orientation. State and local authorities have since vowed to hold the suspected hoax caller accountable.
Contributing: Amanda Lee Myers and Michael Loria, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No evidence of shootings at Villanova, University of South Carolina, school officials say
Reporting by Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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