On August 21, 2025, two American college campuses—Villanova University in Pennsylvania and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC)—became the latest targets in a disturbing string of false active shooter reports, known as "swatting." These incidents, which unfolded just hours apart, sent waves of panic across both communities, disrupted critical orientation events, and left students, parents, and university officials grappling with the psychological aftermath.
At Villanova University, the chaos erupted late Thursday afternoon. According to Delaware County’s Department of Emergency Services, a call came in at 4:33 p.m. reporting that a man armed with an AR-15-style weapon was firing shots on campus at 800 Lancaster Avenue. Officials said they heard “gunshot-like sounds” in the background during the call. Just a minute later, Villanova issued an active shooter alert, urging everyone on campus to move to a secure location. The timing could hardly have been worse: hundreds of freshmen and their families were gathered at an outdoor mass, part of a slate of orientation festivities designed to welcome new students to the university.
Videos quickly surfaced on social media, showing students, parents, and staff dashing for safety—some seeking refuge in closets, classrooms, and even nearby homes. “We got up. We joined the crowd, and we were trampling over a lot of these folding chairs. They just started to go down. People started falling over chairs,” Joe Schmidt, a parent of a Villanova student, recounted to NBC10. “They saw the president being whisked off the stage and the next thing they knew, everybody was just stampeding towards them,” another parent added.
The tension escalated further when, at 5:06 p.m., officials received another call reporting a gunshot wound. By then, a lockdown was underway. Officers from nearly every law enforcement agency in the area, along with 18 EMS units, converged on the campus. An Emergency Operations Center was established, and police conducted room-to-room sweeps to ensure no one was hurt. Students were instructed to barricade their doors and shelter in place, with some remaining hidden for nearly two hours before they were allowed to reunite with their loved ones.
Finally, at 6:32 p.m., the shelter-in-place order was lifted after investigators determined the report was a hoax. “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,” Villanova University President Rev. Peter Donohue wrote in a letter to the Villanova community. “While that is a blessing and relief, I know today’s events have shaken our entire community.”
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer praised the swift and comprehensive law enforcement response. “We have some of the best law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania, in this region,” Stollsteimer said. “I’m very proud of the work that they do. They had the scene secure. This is now the most secure place in Delaware County tonight and we’re going to make sure that Villanova University stays secure.”
Yet the sense of security was deeply shaken. “I’m shaking,” Schmidt admitted after the ordeal. “Never would have expected it. I’m sitting at a mass on a beautiful day. We had a great experience here and it turned into a bit of a nightmare.” All evening activities were canceled, though orientation resumed the next morning with a police presence still visible on and around campus.
Authorities continue to investigate the incident, working to identify the person responsible for the fake call. “While the call—and additional calls related to the incident—may have been attempts to trigger a large-scale police response in a so-called ‘swatting’ attempt, it is important to note that this is an ongoing investigation,” a Delaware County spokesperson wrote. “Law enforcement and EMS personnel operated swiftly and without regard to personal risk, without foreknowledge that there was not an active shooter. Valuable resources and effort were expended in doing so.”
Governor Josh Shapiro publicly condemned the incident, calling it a “cruel swatting incident” and vowing that police would “use every tool at our disposal to find the person or people who called in this fake threat and hold them accountable.” Swatting is illegal in Pennsylvania, with laws covering false reports of fire or emergencies related to life or property. Currently, it’s a misdemeanor unless the fake report is made during a state of emergency, in which case it becomes a low-level felony. In June, a bill was introduced to expand the law’s scope and potentially require those convicted to pay for the emergency response costs.
Just hours before the Villanova incident, a similar scene unfolded at UTC in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A 911 call reported an active shooter on campus, describing a white male with an AR-15 and claiming four people had been shot. The call lasted around six minutes, with the dispatcher reportedly hearing what sounded like four shots. But as UTC Chief of Campus Police Sean O’Brien explained, “If there was an actual event occurring, [the alert system] would have indicated even before dispatch got a phone call, and that system was never activated.” Police found no threat on campus and confirmed that the call did not originate from UTC, though they declined to provide further details due to the ongoing investigation.
Students and faculty at UTC were evacuated and told the campus was clear after about an hour. “I think it was like 12:30 right when my class started, and we just locked the door and all set like in the corner,” recalled Jordan Aldridge, a student at UTC. Blaketon Pricer, another student, described the scene outside the library: “When we got outside, there was a whole bunch of cops telling us to go across the street away from the library, because that’s where they thought the threat was.”
UTC Chancellor Lori Bruce sought to reassure the campus community, announcing that the Tennessee mental health strike team was providing additional counseling services. “The Tennessee mental health strike team has been assisting us and providing even additional counseling services to meet any kind of capacity,” she said. Despite classes resuming the next day, some students found it difficult to return. “It feels weird being on campus again. I, I called out of my classes today because I just can’t like my mind right now. I still need some time to recover from everything,” said UTC student Clara Drouillard.
The psychological toll of these swatting incidents is not easily dismissed. Avery Hamill, a representative of Students Demand Action, a gun violence prevention advocacy group, said in a statement, “Even though no shots were fired, the trauma, fear, and pain that students, professors, and families carry from these lockdowns is real and enduring. No one should start their school year bracing for gun violence.”
As both campuses return to their routines, the investigations continue. Officials in both states have vowed to find those responsible and to push for accountability, recognizing the real and lasting impact of these false alarms on campus communities. These events, occurring on what should have been celebratory days, serve as a stark reminder of the challenges facing American schools—and the urgent need for vigilance, resilience, and support in the face of fear.
