Police: Report of shots fired on Northwestern campus a hoax

EVANSTON, Ill. — A report of a gunman at a Northwestern University residence hall and shots fired was a hoax, a suburban Chicago police official said Wednesday.

Evanston Police Cmdr. Ryan Glew said a call to police reporting shots fired at Engelhart Hall, a graduate student residence, was a “swatting” hoax. The term describes when someone calls in a false report in the hopes of prompting a SWAT team to respond.

Heavily armed Evanston police and university police officers rushed to the dormitory, and the call prompted Northwestern to urge people in the area to “shelter in a safe place and stay until further notice.”

Glew said the student who the caller reported had been shot was later located unharmed.