Grove City College targeted in false "swatting" call, state police say
Grove City College in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, is believed to have been targeted in a false "swatting" call on Sunday, Pennsylvania State Police said.
In a news release on Sunday night, state police said law enforcement received a report of shots fired at the Buhl Library on the campus of Grove City College. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, and "no evidence of an active shooter, or victims or witnesses" was found. State police said it is believed to be a computer-generated swatting call.
The campus is secure, and there were no reported injuries.
"There are no threats to the public at this time," state police said.
The swatting hoax drew a large police presence to the college in Grove City. Photos from the scene showed a heavy law enforcement presence, including Pennsylvania State Police troopers and a SWAT team.
The college was put on a "precautionary lockdown" around 5:30 p.m., but it was lifted around 7 p.m.
At 4:29 p.m. on Sunday, the college's alert system told students about a "potentially dangerous situation at the library." Another alert went out at 4:44 p.m. telling students to stay inside due to the developing situation.
Grove City College said in a statement that law enforcement told school officials that there were "a number of swatting incidents in the region" on Sunday.
Police are working to identify who is behind the swatting incident. Anyone with information can contact the state police's Mercer barracks at 724-748-0044.
What is swatting?
Swatting is when a false emergency call is made to police to lure law enforcement to a targeted building. Swatting call often falsely claims an active shooter situation is underway to incite a large police response.
Swatting has vexed law enforcement for years, wasting police resources along with it.
Students detail police response to swatting call
Caught in the middle of a growing police presence, officers gave students, including Brian Wasnesky, clear instructions: get down and stay down.
"I was definitely a little scared," he said.
Officers ran into the library on Sunday and told students to leave their bags and get out. Wasnesky was already outside.
"I continued to sit there until a campus safety officer said, 'Probably shouldn't be sitting right here,'" he said. "At that point, I moved up towards the student union. Just kind of locked myself in a room."
Students across the campus locked themselves in rooms amid the lockdown.
"We didn't know what to think," student Ian Quinn said.
Students said that, especially during the early hours of the incident, it was important to separate fact from rumor and avoid speculation
"It was pretty scary, at first, because when you have conflicting reports, you don't know if it's an active shooter or a hoax," student Andrew Gondy said.
Classes at Grove City College are set to follow a normal schedule on Monday.