Brief School Lockdown Caused by Possible False Report to OPD

**UPDATE: On Wednesday, OPD released a statement that said the department is now investigating the call as a “prank call.”

After speaking with multiple agencies and checking locations in their jurisdictions, we do not believe this to be an actual event but rather a prank call. Calls such as these should never happen as they place our public and law enforcement in danger. This is a matter that will not be taken lightly. We are actively investigating this incident and working with prosecutors to resolve this case,” said Chief McCutchen in a press release.

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Oxford Intermediate and Central Elementary were briefly placed on lockdown Tuesday by the Oxford Police Department for a reported domestic situation in a nearby neighborhood.

However, less than 10 minutes later, the lockdown ended and schools were released back to regular actives.

According to Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen, OPD received a call on its non-emergency phone line around 1:40 p.m. about a possible domestic situation occurring in a home in a neighborhood close to the schools.

“We had what we believed to be a domestic situation involving firearms with reports of possible shots fired, so we put the schools on lockdown due to the close proximity,” McCutchen said.

However, after arriving at the address given to them by the caller, the police found nothing suspicious going on.

“Once we checked and made sure everything was good, we took the schools off lockdown,” McCutchen said.

McCutchen said investigators are looking into whether it was a prank call or someone had the wrong town and it was an incident going on in another jurisdiction.

“We are trying to help other agencies confirm,” he said.