Active shooter report at University of South Carolina was a hoax, spokesperson says

By Amanda Musa, CNN

(CNN) — A report of an active shooter at the University of South Carolina’s campus library Sunday was part of a swatting hoax, a school spokesperson said.

“USCPD dispatch received two separate calls Sunday reporting an active shooter at the Thomas Cooper Library, at 6:30:42 and 6:32:20 p.m., respectively,” spokesperson Jeff Stensland told CNN in an email Monday.

“Both calls were initiated by an unknown male and included background noise that mimicked gunfire,” Stensland added. “There is currently no evidence that the calls originated on campus.”

Sunday’s incident in Columbia, South Carolina, came hours after Villanova University received its second false active shooter report in a week, according to police in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, where the school is located.

Thursday, Villanova and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga were placed on lockdown because of reports of an active shooter. Authorities are investigating the Tennessee incident as a possible case of swatting, a law enforcement source previously told CNN.

Swatting is a dangerous criminal hoax in which a false report is made to police to lure them to a location, where they are led to believe a crime such as a mass shooting, an imminent bombing or hostage taking has happened.

“We received an unconfirmed report of an active shooter at the Thomas Cooper library,” Stensland told CNN affiliate WIS-TV on Sunday. “At this point, we have no injuries, and we have no confirmation that there actually was a shooter at the library.”

The University of South Carolina issued its first alert just after 6:30 p.m. and followed up with a description of a possible suspect.

Around 7:10 p.m., another alert said there was no evidence of an active shooter, but police were still searching the area.

Authorities cleared the library floor by floor out of an abundance of caution, Stensland added.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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