Villanova University, a Catholic university located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, announced at 7:21 a.m. on Thursday (January 22) that the campus would be closed due to a threat to one of its academic buildings. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the threat in collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies, and all school buildings have been secured. Additional police presence will continue to be deployed on campus to ensure safety. As of 1:36 p.m., the university declared that everything was back to normal on campus, with some buildings reopened to students. The university will resume normal operations on Friday.
In a statement, Villanova University stated, “This morning, the school received a violent threat targeting one of the academic buildings. The FBI is actively investigating, and our public safety department is cooperating with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the investigation. While confirming the validity of the threat, out of an abundance of caution, the school will be closed today, and all activities are canceled. Residential students are advised to stay in their dormitories, and non-residential students are urged not to come to campus. All faculty and staff are not required to report to campus. Due to the presence of the threat, additional police forces will be deployed on campus to ensure community safety.”
This is the third threat Villanova University has faced in half a year. Last August, the school went into lockdown during new student orientation due to reports of an “active shooter” on campus, which was later revealed to be a “cruel hoax” by school officials. A few days later, Villanova University encountered a second false threat.
Another university, New York University (NYU), also received two bomb threat emails targeting two academic buildings (Palladium Hall and Silver Center) on Thursday morning, almost simultaneously with Villanova University’s announcement. One of the threats mentioned the destruction of a building at NYU. NYU increased police presence on campus and enhanced security measures but did not implement a lockdown.
Villanova University is just one of many universities in the United States that have received threats. According to a report by the Associated Press (AP) in September, around 50 college campuses in the United States have been harassed by false alarm calls. The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidelines on identifying false alarm calls.