County issues additional details, praises swift responses of DES and law enforcement
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.
At 5:06 PM, a call was received reporting a gunshot wound, which also turned out to be unfounded. By 6:32 PM, the shelter in place order on-scene was lifted.
While the call — and additional calls related to the incident — may have been attempts to trigger a large-scale police response in a so-called ‘swatting’ attempt, it is important to note that this is an ongoing investigation. Law enforcement and EMS personnel operated swiftly and without regard to personal risk, without foreknowledge that there was not an active shooter. Valuable resources and effort were expended in doing so. In the event that this was an organized, intentional, and unlawful attempt to expend law enforcement resources, County officials are hopeful that the person or persons behind the incident will be identified, apprehended, and brought to justice as soon as possible. Swatting is a crime with severe criminal consequences under both federal and state law.
County officials would also like to praise the work of the Department of Emergency Services and every member of law enforcement and other first responders which came forward to deal with the circumstances as they unfolded. Members of the Delaware County community can sign up for crucial emergency information with the Delco Alert system at https://delcopa.gov/delcoalert. Finally, the County would like to extend our compassion to the broader Villanova community and is again thankful this turned out not to be an active violent encounter.”
— Director of Communications, Michael Connolly