No Threat Found After Report of Gun at USF

TAMPA, Fla. — Law enforcement responded to the University of South Florida‘s Tampa campus on Saturday afternoon after reports of a person with a firearm. The incident was treated as a potential active shooter situation, though authorities later confirmed there was no threat to the campus.

According to an alert issued via ALERTUSF, police investigated a report of an individual carrying a gun on campus but concluded that the claim was unfounded. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office referred to the incident as a “swatting call,” which is when someone falsely reports a dangerous situation to provoke a police response.

Reports began circulating on social media around 4 p.m., indicating possible gunfire and someone barricaded in the USF Library. In response, dozens of officers, including University Police and Tampa Police, arrived at the scene. Students shared videos showing officers with rifles entering the library.

Benjamin Shereff, a junior who was in the library during the incident, described the tense atmosphere. “I saw two cops come by, and they looked like they were clearing the area. They asked, ‘did anybody hear any gunshots?’ and I didn’t hear anything,” he said. Shereff noted that students reacted with a mix of calmness and anxiety, saying, “If you’re from Florida, you’ve probably been through at least one school shooting scare.”

Nabin Khadka, a senior working at the Starbucks in the library, shared his experience of the evacuation. “I’m an international student, so I never encountered this in my country. It was my first experience like this, and the other employees were scared, even the managers,” he said.

The ALERTUSF system, designed to inform the campus community during emergencies, sent an all-clear message shortly after 6:20 p.m. after determining there was no threat. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s officials indicated that the incident falls within a troubling trend of swatting calls affecting educational institutions nationwide.

As investigations continue, officials have not yet identified the individuals responsible for the false report. Various universities across the United States have recently faced similar incidents, prompting widespread concern.