Oklahoma's Own In Focus: Police Response To False Alarm Active Shooter Call At School

Tulsa Police say a seventh grader at Nathan Hale Junior High is in custody after the student took an Airsoft gun to the school.

Police say a text message to 911 reporting the student generated an Active Shooter response that led to dozens of officers at the school.

Police say for Active Shooter calls, it’s all hands-on deck, but they were able to quickly downgrade once they learned there wasn’t a shooter. Still, officers say the student who reported it did everything right.

A large police presence surrounded Nathan Hale Middle School after police say they responded to a call about a possible active shooter around 2 p.m. on Monday.

A growing line of parents waiting to pick up their kids were left without any answers.

“I get up, and there’s a bunch of cops and it made me really concerned and freaked out,” one parent said. 

And with students under lockdown scared and unsure of what to do.

“Me and my friends were thinking just jump out the window,” an eighth-grader said. 

Fortunately, police say they were able to quickly determine there wasn’t any active threat.

“As we cleared every single floor and every room, we didn’t anything that would be a traditional active shooter call,” TPD’s Captain Richard Meulenberg said. 

Officers say after meeting with the student who made the report, police were able to locate a seventh-grade student who was in possession of this:

Image Provided By: Tulsa Police Department

“An Airsoft pistol, which looks very much like a real authentic firearm,” Meulenberg said. “Students should not be carrying this type of thing obviously here. This is kind of a commonsense issue.”

Police say the school was on lockdown for about an hour after the report and want to reinforce the policy, “If you see something, say something.”

“Here’s a student that is very aware of what is happening around the school,” Meulenberg said. “This student did an outstanding job. Did everything she could to let us know. Thankfully, she had her phone. She had the wherewithal to give us a call and notify us of this situation because had it been a real pistol, who knows how it could have turned out differently.”

Since the student is a minor, their name has not been released at this time. 

Police say they are working with TPS, and the most appropriate action will be taken against the 7th grader.