(WWJ) The Novi Police Department is investigating what appears to have been a false report about an armed man at a local school.
Deputy Novi Police Chief Eric Zinzer said someone called 9-1-1 around 12:30 p.m. saying that there was a man standing in front of the Village Oaks Elementary School holding a handgun.
While police were responding, Zinzer said a second call came in saying the man with the gun may now be inside the school, possibly hiding in a bathroom.
The school was placed on lockdown, but officers did not find a gunman, or anything amiss, when they searched the school and its grounds.
"It the last few years our schools have all been trained with ALICE (active shooter) training, to know what to do when these kinds of calls come out," Zinzer told WWJ's Sandra McNeill. "They put their training into practice today, put their classrooms in lockdown, and we are very fortunate to have a very positive outcome here."
Zinzer said police believe the call was a hoax.
Now detectives are investigating to find out who placed the call.
That person could face criminal charges.
"At this time we do not believe that there was anybody here with a gun," Zinzer said. "I don't want to call it swatting, but (it was) some kind of fake call."
The lockdown was lifted, and school continued as usual for the rest of the day.
Anyone with information about this incident call call the Novi PD at 248-348-7100.