BREAKING Active Shooter at Pope Leo XIV's Alma Mater Villanova University was a "Cruel Hoax"

At 4:35pm, on Aug. 21, an active shooter alert was issued at Pope Leo XIV's Alma Mater University, Villanova, in Pennsylvania, however, it was later found to be a "cruel hoax." Many students were attending the orientation school Holy Mass which was interrupted due to the alert. The police posted: Radnor Township Police Department are on location at Villanova University for a repot of an active shooter. All nearby residents and students are asked to SHELTER IN PLACE AT this time. All further information will come from the Office of the Superintendent of Police.

Video show staff, students and their families running into campus buildings, following the call by the police  to shelter in place. The president of the university, Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, later issued a statement saying that the event was a "cruel hoax."

FULL TEXT Message from the President

August 21, 2025

Dear Members of the Villanova Community,

Today, as we are celebrating Orientation Mass to welcome our newest Villanovans and their families to our community, panic and terror ensued with the news of a possible shooter at the Law School. Mercifully, no one was injured, and we now know that it was a cruel hoax—there was no active shooter, no injuries and no evidence of firearms present on campus. While that is a blessing and relief, I know today’s events have shaken our entire community.

I would like to thank everyone involved in securing the safety of our community, especially our Villanova Public Safety department and the first responders from Radnor Police and other local police departments. I would also like to thank our Orientation Counselors and all of the Villanova staff in attendance at the Orientation Mass, who responded calmly and compassionately to a very frightening and unnerving situation.

Amid my thanks, I would like to apologize to our first-year students and their families. This is not the introduction to Villanova that I had hoped for you. And while I cannot do anything to relieve the unrest that you are feeling right now, I can offer a prayer. As generations of Villanovan know, this prayer is how I close Orientation Mass each year. Since we were interrupted today, I would like to offer it now. Whomever you are with, I ask that you reach out to them and repeat after me.

May God bless you and protect you.
May your heart and mind be united in faith so that you may be able to love wisely, work creatively, laugh heartily, and live honestly. May you use your education to bring justice and peace to the world, for the benefit of our human family and all of God’s creation.
And may you always know that you are loved. Amen

I am sure there will be more questions in the coming days and weeks, and we will share as much information with you as we can, but for now, I am thankful that everyone is safe.

With Caritas,
Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA
President
Source: https://www1.villanova.edu/university/president/speeches-messages/8212025.html

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