Multiple colleges experience shooting hoaxes
The article reports on a series of false active shooter threats occurring at multiple colleges across the United States. The University of Pittsburgh Barco Law School recently faced an armed individual report that was quickly deemed unfounded after coordination with local police. Students received alerts about the possible threat, but police cleared the area within 20 minutes. This incident is part of a broader pattern of hoaxes at universities, including Villanova University, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and several others, all reporting similar false threats around August 21-24.These fake reports have raised concerns nationwide and prompted an FBI examination. The FBI warns that such swatting incidents waste law enforcement resources, pose safety risks, and carry serious consequences. Universities continue too treat every threat seriously while trying to confirm their legitimacy.
Multiple colleges experience shooting hoaxes
The University of Pittsburgh Barco Law School is the latest college to experience an active shooter threat.
“In conjunction with City of Pittsburgh Police, the University of Pittsburgh Police Department responded to a report on Thursday of a possible armed individual near the Barco Law Building that was determined to be unfounded. The University takes all threats to our campus community seriously and seeks to quickly determine the credibility of these reported instances. On Thursday, officers arrived on scene quickly and confirmed that there was no threat to public safety,” The University of Pittsburgh released in a statement.
Police in Pittsburgh were able to clear the Barco Law School within 20 minutes of students receiving a text alert from the school warning there was “an unconfirmed report for an armed person.”
Classes began at the law school 10 days ago at the time of the false report.
This threat comes amid a rise in active shooter threats at universities nationwide. Villanova University reported an attack on Aug. 21, which University President Peter Donohue referred to as a “cruel hoax.”
Days later, on Aug. 24, the University of South Carolina cited several reports of an active shooter in its library that were later found to be hoaxes. Classes hadn’t started at the time of the reports, and the fall semester started on schedule on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the University of Arkansas, the University of Colorado Boulder, Iowa State University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Kentucky, Central Georgia Technical College, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Texas at San Antonio also received threats after Aug. 21 that were later proven false.
These false reports have prompted the FBI to investigate the matter further.
“The FBI is seeing an increase in swatting events across the country, and we take potential hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk,” an FBI statement read.
NO EVIDENCE OF SHOOTER AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AFTER EARLIER REPORT
“Knowingly providing false information to emergency service agencies about a possible threat to life drains law enforcement resources, costs thousands of dollars and, most importantly, puts innocent people at risk.”
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the University of Pittsburgh for comment.
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