Villanova University 2025 swatting hoax: Feds charge juvenile associated with online cybercriminal group

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The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Thursday filed charges against a juvenile for an alleged series of swatting calls aimed at universities and other institutions across the country, including Villanova University.

“Swatting” involves calling 911 to falsely report a major crime, forcing a large response from a SWAT team. In August 2025, the defendant allegedly reported a false active shooter threat that sent students scrambling for cover.

Reports of the shooting came as the university was holding its annual Opening Day with incoming students and their families. Social media videos showed waves of people cramming into buildings as armed officers searched the campus. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro slammed the call as a “cruel swatting incident.”

“I want to thank our federal partners for their diligence in bringing these charges,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said Thursday in a statement. “That a juvenile would be subject to federal prosecution reflects the seriousness of these offenses and the distress these actions have caused. I also want to thank the Radnor, Villanova University and Lower Merion Police Departments for their swift response that day.”

Federal prosecutors allege the defendant is a self-identified member of the cybercriminal group “Purgatory.” Investigators believe the targets were randomly chosen.

“The fear on campus that afternoon was unprecedented and an awful reminder of the horrors that mass shootings have brought upon this country,” Rouse said. “It’s an experience that no one should have to go through and now, hopefully, with these charges, others will be effectively deterred from stoking these fears in the future.”

The FBI worked alongside the Radnor Township Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Upper Merion Police Department to investigate the incident, with assistance from other agencies across the country.