Villanova student’s report triggers campus ‘active shooter’ alert; police find no threat

Police said Monday night that there was no actual threat at Villanova University after an “active shooter” text message alert went out to students and parents.

Amid a sleepy Labor Day holiday, a student reported what she believed were gunshots in St. Monica’s Hall, a dorm on South Campus, according to local police.

“Both Radnor police and Villanova University Public Safety responded and swept the building. The report was unfounded. There was no threat to campus safety,” Radnor police and the university said in a joint statement on Twitter.

About 5:25 p.m., Radnor and Villanova University police responded to St. Monica’s Hall for a report of shots fired. The first officers to arrive entered and began clearing the building. Officers determined there was no threat, the statement said.

As a precaution, officers cleared the entire building. About 7 p.m., students were allowed to reenter the dormitory, according to Radnor Lt. Shawn Dietrich and David Tedjeske, chief of the Villanova University Police Department.

Earlier this summer, Thomas Jefferson University apologized for sending an active shooter alert by accident.