Active shooter! Villanova University! Scarpa Hall!” an officer chirped across the radio. Officials later determined it was an act of swatting, a fake emergency called in to induce panic.

Hoax calls can also land innocent bystanders in dangerous situations. Four Black undergraduate students at Harvard University wound up being held at gunpoint during a swatting incident at the Ivy League school in 2023, according to reporting by The Harvard Crimson.