The County of Delaware has issued the following statement regarding multiple reports of shots fired on the campus of Villanova University on August 21st, 2025, reports which later proved to be unfounded:

“Delaware County’s Department of Emergency Services received a call at 4:33 PM of shots fired from a man armed with an AR-15-style weapon on the campus of Villanova University, reports which later turned out to be erroneous. Multiple calls were received in which gunshot-like sounds were heard in the background, which are under investigation at this time. Law enforcement agencies were dispatched from nearly every municipality in the region, an Emergency Operations Center was established, and 18 EMS units were dispatched in the event of injuries.

District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer and Mayor Stefan Roots today announced the start of Operation Chester Safe Summer, an intensive community policing initiative to help reduce violent crime in the City of Chester this summer.

“Operation Chester Safe Summer builds on the work of the Chester Partnership for Safe Neighborhoods, our community-law enforcement partnership which has helped reduce shootings in the City by 54% since its inception in October of 2020,” said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. “I’m doubling down on our commitment to reducing violence in the City this summer by adding more resources to ensure we have as many Chester Police Officers as possible on the streets keeping residents safe,” Stollsteimer continued.

District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced the charging of twenty (20) individuals who worked in the Chester Community Charter School with multiple counts related to child abuse against twenty six (26) children in grades K-5 who were enrolled in the school’s Team Approach to Achieving Academic Success (TAAS) program. These charges come after a police investigation begun after two parents complained to school officials in January of 2025 that their children reported being afraid to attend school due to fears of being placed in “holds” by school staff.

District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced the arrest of six individuals in connection with the operation of a major drug trafficking organization in Delaware County. The arrests are the result of an intensive undercover operation by the County’s Narcotics Task Force (NTF), with tremendous assistance from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Pennsylvania State Police, the Delaware State Police, the office of the Camden County (NJ) District Attorney, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.