Report of campus shooter at Villanova University was a ‘cruel hoax,’ school’s president says

A report of a shooter on Villanova University’s campus that sparked panic among students and drew a heavy police presence was a “cruel hoax,” the school’s president said Thursday.

Earlier in the afternoon, students had received a text from the Villanova alert system that told them to lock and barricade doors and move to secure locations. A second alert from Villanova officials warned people to stay away from the law school.