Police in Evanston, Ill., have determined that the reported shooting incident at a Northwestern University graduate-student residence hall Wednesday afternoon was a “swatting” hoax. Such hoaxes typically center on an attempt among people connected via online groups or otherwise to outdo one another by drawing massive responses to fictitious reports of criminal activity. The university community had been notified just before 2:40 p.m. local time via text message and on Twitter that a person on campus was in possession of a gun. Recipients of the messages were advised to take shelter in a safe place and await further information and avoid the campus if not already on the premises. The Evanston Police Department said the department was investigating “shots fired” and later added that that it had not immediately located a perpetrator or victim or crime scene but that municipal and university police were continuing to search and secure the area. Just hours earlier, students across the country had participated in a nationwide walkout against gun violence to mark the passage of a month since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
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