Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Students at Villanova University near Philadelphia received an active shooter alert and were warned to stay in secure locations late Thursday afternoon, but it was a hoax.
University officials issued an active shooter alert to students and warned them to shelter in place at 4:30 p.m. EDT, after being alerted to an alleged shooter at the university's law school.
Many police responded to the scene, but no injuries were reported before University President Peter Donohue announced it was a "cruel hoax" at about 6:15 p.m., WCAU reported.
"Panic and terror ensued as news of a possible shooter at the Law School," Donohue said in a letter to students and family.
"Mercifully, no one was injured, and we now know that it was a cruel hoax," Donohue continued. "There was no active shooter, no injuries and no evidence of firearms present on campus."
