ATF police and first responders at the Villanova University campus in Villanova, Pa., on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, where an active shooter was reported. Read more Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Jesse Bunch Updated Aug. 27, 2025, 5:23 p.m. ET | Published Aug. 27, 2025, 4:47 p.m. ET

Anti-extremism researchers say they’ve identified a group claiming responsibility for the hoax active-shooter calls that led to massive police responses and widespread panic at Villanova University and other colleges as students returned to campus last week.

Members of the nonprofit Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) said Wednesday they believe the source of the calls are a group dubbed “Purgatory,” part of an online threat network called “The Com” that exists at the “intersec

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