‘No evidence’: Several campuses nationwide hit with false reports of active shooters
Key Takeaways
- Multiple universities received false reports of active shooters, causing panic and temporary lockdowns as classes resumed for the fall semester.
- No evidence of any actual threats was found in the reported incidents.
- False reports occurred at the University of South Carolina, Iowa State University, University of Tennessee, Villanova and University of Arkansas.
As campuses nationwide welcome students and faculty back to school, several universities across the nation have had to deal with false reports of active shooters.
On Monday, Fayetteville police announced there is no evidence of an active shooter at the University of Arkansas despite earlier reports.
The news came a few hours after students received a text alert warning of an active shooter situation at Mullins Library that stated: “RazALERT Emergency Notification: Avoid the area of Mullins Library due to an active shooter reported. Avoid. Deny. Defend.”
“The shooter reports at the University of Arkansas come days after ‘hoax’ active shooter reports at Villanova University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga led to panic and temporary lockdowns at the two campuses as they kicked off their fall semesters,” ABC reported.
Villanova dealt with two separate false claims as it kicked off the fall semester.
“For the second time in a week, an active shooter report turned out to be fake,” reported Fox 29 on Monday.
Officers had responded to reports of an active shooter at Villanova’s Austin Hall just before noon on Sunday, a few days after an anonymous report of an active shooter in the Charles Widger School of Law, the outlet reported, adding: “Both incidents are being investigated, but no further details about the false reports have been released at this time.”
What’s more, University of South Carolina students were told to shelter in place Sunday after an active shooter was reported near the school’s library, but “a campus alert later stated that there was no evidence of a shooter as police continued to investigate, and an all-clear was issued,” USA Today reported.
Similar incidents occurred at Iowa State University and the University of Tennessee.
“Police converged on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus Aug. 25 in response to a report of a gunman at Hodges Library, but found no threat. A university spokesperson and Knoxville police told Knox News it turned out to be a false report,” Knox News reported.
And in Iowa, police are investigating what they say is a false report of an active shooter at Iowa State University in Ames, KCCI news reported.
“Iowa State University police chief Michael Newton said the initial call came in reporting a person with a rifle at Friley Hall, a 5-story residence hall on campus. Authorities responded swiftly, he said, and conducted a search of the hall and checked video for any truth to the report. They also received a second call about an ‘active shooter’ at ISU’s Parks Library,” the news outlet reported.
“This is really frustrating,” Newton said of the hoax. “It brings an element of potential danger that doesn’t need to be there.”
MORE: FBI withholds details about suspects in bomb threats targeting HBCUs
Image CAPTION & CREDIT: Iowa State University campus; EQ Roy/Shutterstock
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