On Friday evening, Bucknell’s campus spent an hour in lockdown after Public Safety received a call reporting an active shooter on campus. Alerts were sent out via Public Safety text-alert system and Bucknell’s Facebook page at 6:37 p.m. telling recipients to seek safe shelter immediately until the lockdown order was lifted.
For the next hour, students remained locked in their dorms or other campus facilities while Public Safety officers and state police worked to eliminate the threat and control the situation. Students did not receive any additional information during this time.
At 7:31 p.m. that same evening, Bucknell Public Safety Chief Anthony Morgan reported no active threat to the community, and an all-clear was issued. Public 9-1-1 radio reports, including that of Union County, largely reflected this information. Bucknell’s social media pages were updated to reflect the all-clear order at around 7:34 p.m.
Federal officials were also involved in the investigation. U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) said his office was “in touch with the situation going on at Bucknell” and urged everyone to “stay safe and remain in place until local law enforcement secures the area” in a tweet at 7:42 p.m.
At 7:55 p.m. on Friday, state police concluded that “the report of an active shooter was determined to be a hoax coordinated out of Virginia” in a tweet posted to Bucknell’s page. Mike Ferlazzo, Director of Media Relations at Bucknell, corroborated the police’s conclusion in his statement to the Bucknell community.
Local and state newspapers like the Daily Item and NJ.com have picked up the active shooting threat story, as well as several national publications, Fox News and the New York Post among them.
Following this tumultuous time for Bucknell, many students and higher-up faculty members have reached out to share their empathy and condolences.
Bucknell Student Government President, Thandeka Bango ’26, said in a mass email, “The Bucknell community is facing immense trauma and suffering at this moment and it is important to support each other as we move forward in solidarity.”
President John Bravman expressed his “appreciation for […] students, who moved through the past 48 hours with kindness and fortitude,” in his email: “Our community has experienced two consecutive waves of fear and loss in a short period of time. […] You all have my admiration and deep gratitude.”
Both encourage those who are still reeling from the events of this weekend to reach out to the Counseling & Student Development Center, access the Crisis Text Line (crisistextline.org), or talk to campus chaplains.
