Report of gun leads to Pasco school lockdowns
DADE CITY (FOX 13) - A cell phone mistaken for a gun apparently led to lockdowns at several Pasco County schools this morning.
According to Dade City police, several schools were locked down after a caller told police that she had seen an adult hand a gun to a teenager near Pasco High School. Every campus near that location -- Pasco High, Pasco Middle, Pasco Elementary, and Cox Elementary -- was locked down while officers and deputies searched for the man or the gun.
The man was later identified but told police that he had handed the teen a cell phone, not a gun. Police said his cell phone records showed a call was indeed made at that time in question, corroborating his story.
By noon all of the lockdowns had been lifted except for Pasco High, where K-9s were still helping finish the search for any guns.
"Dade City police do not believe that any weapon will be found as they believe that the witness saw the cell phone exchange and thought it was a weapon," a police spokesman offered.