Villanova closed due to a threat to an academic building
FBI is investigating the threat. All school buildings are locked down.
Villanova University closed Thursday morning after receiving a threat targeting one of its academic buildings.
The FBI is investigating the threat alongside state and local law enforcement, school officials announced at 7:21 a.m. No reports of activity posing a danger to the campus were reported.
However, school officials now say they are aware of at least one other university that received a similar threat, but declined to name the other university. New York University also received threats early Thursday against two school buildings, the school announced around the same time as Villanova. One threat included mention of bombing an NYU building. NYU did not go on lockdown.
Another update will be shared at 11 a.m.
University spokesperson Jonathan Gust declined to say which building was targeted or describe the nature of the threat, given the investigation is ongoing. “In an abundance of caution, the university made the decision to close,” he said.
While law enforcement verifies the validity of this threat, Villanova classes and activities will not take place today. Additional police will be present on campus.
Students who live in on-campus housing should remain in their residence hall. Off-campus students should stay home, and everyone else should stay away from campus, officials said.
This isn’t Villanova’s first threat in recent history. Last August, the university went into lockdown during an orientation session after reports of an “active shooter” on campus.
Officials later learned that it was a “cruel hoax.” But that wasn’t before panic spread throughout the region, with students and faculty fleeing the school in tears and Pennsylvania’s top officials weighing in, including Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Villanova senior James Haupt said he learned of the threat and class cancelation about 7:30 a.m. He lives off campus and had not yet headed to the school for his morning class.
“After the last incident, it’s hard to take it completely seriously when we know that was a hoax,” said Haupt, 21, a communications major from Long Island. “But it’s still a little scary knowing this can happen at any point.”
He said he’s glad that the school canceled classes. “It’s a great gesture by the school,” he said. “I’d rather not have to go into class and be worried.”
Haupt had one class scheduled for Thursday and an intramural basketball game in the evening. “I imagine that might be canceled, too,” he said.
The private Catholic university, roughly 12 miles northwest of Philadelphia, is home to about 6,700 undergraduates with a yearly tuition of around $70,000. Notable alumni of Villanova include Pope Leo XIV and former first lady Jill Biden.