After an hourslong search last week for an alleged armed suspect that turned out to be an off-duty Chattanooga police officer, the 911 call that sparked it all provides more details into the day's events.
In a call that lasted just over two minutes, the person states he saw someone dressed in what looked like a Chattanooga Police Department uniform carrying a long-barreled gun down the street near the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus. He said he did not see the person get out of a marked patrol car, though.
"I don't think I saw him get out of a marked patrol car. It looked like he got out of a regular car," the caller said. "But he was in a full, in full tactical belt and everything.
"I mean, it looked like he was an actual police officer," he said. "But he just didn't get out of a car and was walking down the street by himself with a big gun ... I just wanted to let y'all know."
The call was followed by a rapid spread of rumors, much of which were inaccurate. Police confirmed they'd received unsubstantiated reports of the suspect wearing a ski mask and tactical gear or having been seen in separate locations.
Police responded in force and focused their search on Fletcher Hall, also known as the Gary W. Rollins College of Business. Nearby roads were shut down, and students were evacuated to a parking lot about a block away as police canvassed the building.
Some of the evacuated students could be heard on the phone sharing information about a suspect having been caught and that the building had been cleared. The building had not been cleared at the time, and no armed suspect was ever found.
In a news conference following the incident, police Chief David Roddy cautioned people to be more careful in what they consider reliable information.
While he said he didn't think people reported what they heard out of malice, he said misinformation does cause distractions and makes law enforcement less effective.
"You had hundreds of law enforcement officers here today, getting pulled out of calls for services," he said. "I could not imagine the number of loved ones ... that were also put into a stressful, tense, anxious situation because of those 'well, I heards.'"
He reiterated that officials weren't critiquing anyone for reporting something they saw or heard first-hand.
"The part that I think we should pay better attention to is what do we do with the information that we heard from someone else," he said.
Listen to the full call above.