ISU Experiences Falsified Active Shooter Report On First Day Of Classes

(Ames, IA)  —  Iowa State University police say false reports of an active shooter on campus yesterday were a result of swatting. Authorities received several calls yesterday as students returned to campus for the first day of fall classes. ISU Police Chief Michael Newton says a campus alert wasn’t issued because the reports were quickly identified as a hoax. Swatting calls are false police reports or fake 9-1-1 calls, usually about a mass shooting or bombing. Yesterday’s incident follows a recent string of false reports at public universities nationwide, including the University of Arkansas and Villanova University.