Officials have made significant headway in investigating the New Prague Middle School shooting scare that happened Wednesday, March 20. According to WCCO, one 12-year-old male student has been taken into custody regarding what luckily turned out to be only a prank.
The incident happened Wednesday morning, when a 911 call was made claiming that shots were fired at the New Prague, Minn. middle school. The school immediately went into lockdown, and students have since been cleared and sent home. No shots were fired and nobody was injured.
Now New Prague Police Chief Mark Vosejpka says, “The investigation leads us to believe that student was the only student involved.” He notes that the investigation is still active, but they believe that the 12-year-old acted alone and that it was a prank. In fact, the student apparently called authorities twice, claiming there were two injuries. The calls were made from a deactivated cell phone which was capable of making only 911 calls. The motive is not known at this time.
Students at the New Prague Middle School were released and sent home for the day, and parents are no doubt relieved. Bus drivers were instructed to ensure all students were met by someone at home upon drop-off. Any students without someone available at home were to be brought back to the school. Elementary students weren't in school yet when the New Prague shooting hoax occurred, and their buses were turned around to return the students home.
Classes will resume on Thursday, and counselors will be available for students and parents. Many parents are lauding New Prague for their quick, decisive handling of the New Prague shooting threat, and everyone is grateful it turned out to be a hoax with nobody actually injured. It sounds like one young student will be facing some very serious consequences for this one, however.
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