School and police officials say a report of a man pointing a gun near a Marion City Schools elementary building was made up by the students. When police questioned the students Thursday morning, they admitted to making up the story.
The students at William Howard Taft Elementary School had reported seeing a man pointing a gun at them at about 9:30am on Thursday, January 17, 2013. School officials brought all the kids inside the building and put the school into lockdown. That lockdown has since been lifted.
Officers from the Marion Police Department and Marion Sheriff’s Office responded to the school and searched the area using a K-9 unit. While the search was ongoing, other officers started questioning the students who made the report.
“This appears to be several young children that started telling a story that grew out of hand,” said Major Randy Caryer of the Marion Police Department.
School officials say they have not determined what, if any, punishment the students will face. In addition to a letter being sent home to all Taft Elementary parents, a phone call about the incident will also be made to all district parents through the school’s call alert system.
Other school districts are reporting receiving a high number of phone calls from concerned parents about the incident. Police officials stress there is nothing to be concerned about and no gunman was actually seen.
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