Middle School Lockdown Hoax: 12-Year-Old Student Makes Prank 911 Call Reporting School Shooting

A 12-year-old boy caused a middle school lockdown by calling 911 to tell them a man with a gun was in his school. A lockdown was enacted at the high school and Central Education Campus building in New Prague, Minnesota, as well.

The 12-year-old boy who caused the mass middle school lockdown has been placed under arrest. The boy's name has not been released.

The incident occurred around 8am Wednesday morning. When he called 911, the boy told the operator that a man armed with an AK-47 had come into his middle school and started shooting. The boy told the police that there were already some victims.

Police asked the middle school student for his phone number. The boy told the police it was a new phone and he didn't know the number.

Scott County Sheriff Kevin Studnicka told reporters, "[The boy] claimed he needed help because there was a shooter in the building with an AK-47 and that there were a couple of victims." The police quickly investigated and determined that nobody in the middle school was injured and it was all a hoax.

The school district locked down the middle school and two other schools when they got word of the shooter. After the call was revealed to be a hoax classes were canceled for the day. Parents who showed up at the middle school looking for their children were told to go to a church nearby and await instructions.

One the 911 call was established as a fake, the police found the yet unnamed boy and arrested him. There is no statement from police about what led them to suspect the boy they arrested.

Why the student made the prank call is still unknown. It is likely he just thought it would be funny. For parents and police, it was a frightening reminder of the Sandy Hook Tragedy from December 2012.

The locked down middle school and high school have a combined total of 2,067 students. Two months ago in the same school district, another student made a prank 911 call. That time the student phoned about a bomb threat.

The investigation into the middle school lock down and the 12-year-old boy who made the call is still going on. There is no word on exactly what charges the boy may be facing.