The Madison Police Department arrested a student Thursday following 911 calls falsely accusing another student of carrying a gun.
MPD’s incident report states that a student at Vel Phillips Memorial High School was arrested on two counts of Misuse of 911. The student allegedly called the police twice, claiming that he saw an outline of a gun in a student’s backpack.
Police did not find a weapon on the student accused of carrying a gun. The caller later confessed to police for making false 911 calls. The report states that the case is being investigated by the District Attorney’s office.
According to The Cap Times, Memorial High School received unrelated, threatening phone calls every day in the past week. MPD found that none of the calls were valid. Memorial High School principal Matt Hendrickson issued an email to families, explaining that the threats are being taken seriously.
“MPD is continuing a very detailed investigation into the origin of every false threat made and detectives have determined there to be no substantiated threat to our school, and all calls have been confirmed as not credible or false,” Hendrickson said.
Officials believe that prior media exposure may have encouraged copycat behavior. MPD issued an additional incident report to assert that the string of calls is being investigated, although none have been deemed credible.
“The Madison Police Department recognizes the anxiety and stress these types of threats can create in our community and feel for the students and staff who have had their school week disrupted,” MPD Public Information Officer Stephanie Fryer said.
