May 3, 2024 |
Photo – Dispatch image – Courtesy istockphoto.com
Faulty law enforcement reports about an incident involving a suspect with a gun in Hanna caused the elementary school to issue a lock out this week. The report turned out to be false.
Around noon on Wednesday afternoon, Hanna Elementary School received a call from a concerned resident saying that a possible active shooter was in town. The resident said that a friend in Rawlins had overheard a report on the police scanner of an active shooter near the school.
After the call, school officials instituted a lock out, meaning that no one was allowed in or out of the building. Principal Jackie Jones called the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office to report the potential situation.
The Hanna Elementary School remained on lock out status for roughly an hour on Wednesday, from around noon to 1:00pm.
Sheriff Alex Bakken informed Bigfoot99 on Thursday an active shooter was never involved. The sheriff said Rawlins Police dispatchers transferred an emergency call to the sheriff’s department and important information was lost. The sheriff said the situation never presented any danger to residents.
Rawlins Police Chief Mike Ward said his dispatchers did not transfer any calls to the sheriff’s department on Wednesday afternoon. Chief Ward said the civil disturbance call was sent to Wyoming Highway Patrol because the caller was traveling on Interstate 80.
Bigfoot99 reached out to Sheriff Bakken for clarification about the transfer. As of the writing of this story, the sheriff has not returned our reporter’s call. While speaking to Bigfoot99 early yesterday morning, Sheriff Bakken said he was not personally involved in Wednesday’s incident and was simply relaying information received from his deputies.
No matter who took the call, it is clear that initial reports of an active shooter in Hanna were incorrect.
