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.
