On Sunday, Sept. 6, Villanova University was put under a temporary lockdown due to a stabbing incident in the nearby area until the suspects were apprehended by local law enforcement.
At around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, a U-Haul struck the back of a Mercedes on the southbound ramp of Interstate 476 in Lower Merion Township, resulting in a crash. Following the crash, multiple subjects from the U-Haul and other vehicles assaulted the driver of the Mercedes. The assault ended with a subject stabbing the driver of the Mercedes in the abdomen and fleeing the scene in a U-Haul and other vehicles, according to a report released by Pennsylvania State Police.
The U-Haul eventually exited the interstate at the Radnor exit and was seen by Lower Merion Police at the Sunoco located in the 700 Block of West Lancaster Ave, according to the same Pennsylvania State Police report. The subject then fled the Sunoco on foot after the Lower Merion Police arrived.
Eventually, the subject was captured in nearby Austin Memorial Park, which is adjacent to the Sunoco across Lancaster Ave.
The incident prompted the University to put the campus under a shelter-in-place and then an eventual lockdown. The first notice came via the University’s campus alert system, NOVA Alert, at 5:56 p.m.
“Local Police activity [sic] Off campus,” the NOVA Alert read. “Shelter in place. Await instructions. No imminent danger.”
The initial alert was then followed by four more alerts over the span of 41 minutes.
At 6:10 p.m., a NOVA Alert was issued warning that the local police were searching the area of County Line Road and Lancaster Ave for a suspected attacker in a stabbing incident that occurred in Lower Merion Township.
“The individual is reported as armed and dangerous,” the 6:10 p.m. NOVA Alert stated. “The campus has been ordered to lockdown as a precautionary measure due to the proximity of the search.”
The University then suspended all bus and shuttle services until the lockdown was lifted and warned students residing in the Bryn Mawr Villas, colloquially known as Props, to exercise caution because the primary search area was focused near Airdale Rd and Lancaster Ave.
An all-clear notification was finally issued at 6:41 p.m., just over 41 minutes after the initial NOVA Alert was issued.
“Earlier this evening, a suspect involved in a stabbing incident in Lower Merion Township was apprehended off campus and is now in custody,” Debra Patch, the University’s Deputy Chief of Police and Associate Director of Public Safety, wrote in an email to the Villanova community on Sunday evening. “The incident did not occur on Villanova’s campus and did not involve the University or members of the Villanova community.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the University followed the guidance of local authorities and placed the campus on lockdown while law enforcement searched the surrounding area. We are grateful to our local law enforcement partners for their quick response and guidance throughout the incident, as well as to our University Police and Public Safety officers for their professionalism and commitment to keeping our community safe.”
The incident is actively being investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police, Philadelphia Station, Criminal Investigation Unit. They are asking that anyone who may have witnessed the stabbing or has information regarding this incident is asked to contact PSP-Philadelphia at 215-452-5216 and reference the Pennsylvania State Police incident number: PA2026-1146481.
The Villanovan will continue to provide updates on the situation as they come in.