By Cindy Von Quednow, Michael Callahan, CNN

(CNN) — A “cruel hoax” sent Villanova University students sheltering into place on the first day of orientation after a false report of an active shooter, the school’s president said, prompting a massive response by local and federal law enforcement as they worked to secure the campus.

No injuries were reported and no weapons were found, Peter M. Donohue, the university’s president, said in a letter sent to the campus community and obtained by CNN.

The first campus alert went out around 4:35 p.m. ET, during an opening mass, which was set to be followed by a family picnic.

“ACTIVE SHOOTER on VU campus. Move to secure location. Lock/barricade doors. More info to follow,” read an alert on the campus website.

The anonymous report indicated there was an active shooter in the Charles Widger School of Law and claimed at least one person was wounded, school and police officials said.

“Panic and terror ensued” after the report, Donohue said in the letter.

Police and fire officials swarmed the area of the law school, with some armed officers on the roof, as they worked to clear buildings and look for a possible shooter or victims, video from CNN affiliate WPVI showed.

None were found.

“While it is a blessing and relief, I know today’s events have shaken our entire community,” Donohue said in the letter sent just after 6 p.m.

He apologized to first-year students and their families.

“This is not the introduction to Villanova that I had hoped for you,” he said.

Authorities seek to prosecute person responsible

New student orientation and registration began Thursday and is scheduled to go until Saturday, while classes begin Monday, according to the school’s academic calendar.

All other orientation activities scheduled for the day were canceled and were expected to resume Friday, school officials said.

The report of a shooter came hours after the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sent an active-shooter alert and the campus went on lockdown. Police later said the authorities found “no evidence of a threat.” Authorities are investigating the Tennessee incident as a possible case of swatting, a law enforcement source told CNN.

Swatting is a dangerous criminal hoax where a false report is made to police with the express purpose of luring them to a location, where they are led to believe a horrific crime such as a mass shooting, an imminent bombing, or hostage taking has been committed or is in progress.

This can result in a forceful response from local police and SWAT teams, who have no way to know the call is a hoax.

Swatting has been on the FBI’s radar for nearly two decades, and gained notoriety after high-profile celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian became victims. In a 2008 assessment of the “new phenomenon,” the FBI said a group of recently convicted swatters were motivated by “bragging rights and ego, versus any monetary gain,” noting group members “did it because they could.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he directed state police to “use every tool at our disposal” to find the person responsible for the swatting incident.

“I know today was every parent’s worse nightmare, and every student’s biggest fear,” Shapiro said in an X post. “I am profoundly grateful no one was hurt, and thankful to all members of law enforcement who ran towards reports of danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe.”

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer echoed Shapiro’s sentiments.

“My office, Investigation Division, the FBI, will all work to try to get to the bottom of who might have done this,” Stollsteimer said during a news conference Thursday. “We will track you down if it’s the last thing we do.”

Villanova is a private Catholic university in the suburbs of Philadelphia and is the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Josh Campbell, Danny Freeman and Amanda Musa contributed to this report.

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