No ‘Active Shooter’ At International Business College Despite Text
FORT WAYNE — Schools in southwest Allen County were briefly locked down early Friday as police searched for a suspect, but one college sent an erroneous text alert about an “active shooter.”
At 10:12 a.m., International Business College sent a text alert to students that said the school was on lock down, and students were ordered to stay in their apartments.
Then, at 10:40 a.m., the school sent another text that indicated there was an “active shooter in the area,” and students were told to “stay where you are.”
Five Southwest Allen County schools were placed on a lockout “as a precautionary measure due to police activity in the area,” and additional security measures were set in place at Homestead High School, the district said. Those lockouts were lifted around 11:30 a.m.
No active shooter was reported to Fort Wayne or Allen County police, NewsChannel 15 learned. At the time, Allen County Sheriff’s deputies pulled a person over in the area and there was brief foot chase.
There has been no information to suggest that suspect had a gun or fired one. Dispatchers said the suspect had been known to carry a gun previously, however.
NewsChannel 15 called International Business College for information about the text alerts, but was told the school was trying to conduct business and had no comment. The line was twice disconnected.
Source: WANE