Hamilton County Sheriff's Department officers gather at the entrance to the Port Royal subdivision near Lakesite on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 24, 2014, to investigate the report of a shooting at 1922 Port Royal Drive. There was no sign of a shooting at the address.Empty threats led to a security scramble in the Middle Valley area of Hamilton County on Wednesday afternoon.
Dispatchers received a call from an anonymous male who said he planned to harm a family he identified as his own, neighbors and the police, according to Janice Atkinson, public information officer for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
"We immediately went into action," Atkinson said. "We did everything we could to make sure that everyone was safe."
Loftis Middle, McConnell Elementary and Soddy-Daisy High schools were all placed on "lock-out," which is when all the exterior doors leading into a school are locked and no one from the outside is allowed to enter.
The house and family mentioned in the caller's threat were found by officers to be exactly as the caller reported, but everyone was safe and there were no injuries, Atkinson said.
The caller made up an identity when he made the call, and the whole thing was "a false alarm," she said.
Atkinson said the caller has not been identified, but there are several leads in the case.
"The amount of resources we used is mind-boggling," she said. "But luckily no one was hurt."