LOCAL

Okemos High School shooting hoax: Teacher describes police descending on classroom

Lansing State Journal

MERIDIAN TWP. − The teacher whose Okemos High School classroom was the reported site of what turned out to be a false report of a shooting Tuesday lauded the police response.

Keith Miller, a special education teacher at the high school, was outside the school delivering homework to a homebound student when he saw police rushing into the school. He ran back into his classroom, A-101, as the lockdown alarms went off in the building.

"At that point, you just hear sirens," he said. "You thought it was something more at that point than a drill."

Police rushed into Miller's classroom with weapons drawn, ready to engage a shooter reported to have shot students in the classroom, he said.

"I thought the response by local law enforcement, quite honestly, was amazing," he said. "I felt very safe with the response that we had."

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Students like Okemos junior Suchir Nagisetty were pleased with the response from the school, law enforcement and how prepared officials were for the situation.

"I think the school did a great job because everyone was safe and we all got out of the school in a calm matter," Nagisetty said. "The staff was very helpful because they organized the kids, did a head count, and made sure everyone was there. The police did a good job and made us feel safe."

The dispatch center received a single call reporting a shooting at the high school shortly after 9 a.m., according to Meridian Township Police Chief Ken Plaga. Law enforcement officers from six police departments, the FBI, ATF and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources swarmed the school and found that no shots had been fired, nor was there any sign of any kind of violence. No injuries were reported.

Emergency personnel from the Meridian Township and East Lansing fire departments also responded.

Students were taken to the high school football field before being bussed to other locations to be reunited with parents.

His students also did an excellent job, but he said some are still processing what happened.

Some couldn't fully grasp what was happening at the school as they watched officers armed with weapons rush into their classroom, he said. Two assistants in Miller's classroom worked to keep the students calm.

"There was no panic," Miller said. "They were fantastic."

He is already working with his assistants to determine how best to address the incident with the students. When they return to school, there likely will be counselors and therapy dogs, he said.

Reporter Brian Calloway contributed. Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.