Bucknell: Friday's hoax is an ongoing investigation
Apr. 1—LEWISBURG — The investigation into an active shooter hoax at Bucknell University is ongoing, according to school officials.
University Director of Media Relations Mike Ferlazzo on Monday said the university's Public Safety does not comment on active investigations. The report of an active shooter originated as a hoax out of Virginia, which sent the campus into lockdown at 6:37 p.m. Friday.
State police out of Milton determined the incident as a hoax. State Trooper Sara Barrett, the Community Services Officer (CSO) for the Valley barracks, said on Monday that the state police turned the investigation over to Bucknell's Public Safety department.
About 45 minutes after the initial alert, the university sent out a campus-wide alert saying the public safety office determined the emergency was over and the lockdown had been lifted. The all-clear was given at 7:31 p.m. and Morgan reported there was no imminent danger or threat to the community.
In February 2019, Line Mountain High School and middle school were the victims of a similar incident when an unidentified person threatened a shooting at a school before 3 p.m. The district and neighboring districts Shikellamy, Shamokin and Mount Carmel also locked down. State police determined it was a swatting incident generated in Indiana.
Swatting is a form of harassment where an anonymous threat is made, like a shooting or threat of a bomb, and law enforcement responds en masse unsuspected. Such incidents tax local resources.
