Report of person with gun at Grove City College believed to be hoax, police say

GROVE CITY, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Police are now investigating what they describe as a “computer-generated swatting call” that led officers to respond to reports of a man with a rifle inside Grove City College’s library.

The incident began just before 4 p.m., when Grove City police received a call claiming a man armed with a rifle in a blue shirt was inside the library.

Officers quickly responded, and students were alerted about a possible threat on campus.

Sophomore Peyton Randall told Channel 11 he was inside the library when the alert was issued.

“We see a campus officer, I believe, walk in with a rifle pointing up in the air. All of a sudden we just hear the words ‘evacuate’ like ‘get out,’ and people start frantically running, everything is flying in the air,” Randall said.

Randall said he jumped out of a window to get to safety, tearing his shirt in the process.

“I wasn’t thinking much. I was just thinking, get people out and get to safety, run,” he said.

A lockdown was issued across campus as more than 50 officers conducted a full-scale search of the area.

Freshman student George Witte showed Channel 11 the alert he received from the college.

“I was a bit curious, so I left the dorm room and walked toward the library. Not the smartest decision, but I just kind of wanted to see what was going on because I didn’t know how serious the lockdown was,” Witte said.

After nearly three hours of searching, police confirmed they found no evidence of an active shooter.

State police sent the following statement:

“At approximately 1600 hours, Grove City PD received calls of shots fired at the library of Grove City College. The Pennsylvania State Police along with Grove City PD responded and no evidence of an active shooter, or victims or witnesses claiming an active shooter was ever present at the library was found. This is believed to be a computer-generated swatting call. Grove City Campus is secure. No injuries were reported from this incident and there are no threats to the public at this time.”

Despite the chaos, students say they are grateful that no one was hurt.

“I’m extremely happy that no one was injured. We can’t thank the Lord for anything better. There was no better outcome,” Randall said.

The campus has since reopened.

State police are now looking into who is responsible.

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