FBI Says False Report Led to School Lockdown
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GANADO, Ariz. — A high school in northeastern Arizona was locked down as a precaution Wednesday, but there was no standoff with armed people as earlier reported by police, an FBI spokeswoman said.
A report that six armed people were holed up at Ganado High School on the nation’s largest Indian reservation turned out to be false, said Deborah McCarley, a spokeswoman for the FBI.
She said she knew of no weapons found at the school.
Jim Benally, police chief for nearby Window Rock, had said a boy was on campus armed with a gun, and five girls had knives.
Benally could not be reached after it was learned the report was false.
McCarley said the misunderstanding stemmed from poor cellphone coverage in the remote area and people making assumptions based on limited information.
Selena Manychildren, a spokeswoman for the emergency services department of the Navajo Nation, said authorities reacted appropriately by locking down the school.
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