ATLANTA — A girl's terrifying story of a man with a gun who allegedly tried to grab her from the playground has turned out to be just that, according to officials - a story.
On Monday, Atlanta Public Schools said a student told staff members at Deerwood Academy that the man came up to her during the school day and threatened to take her. It reportedly happened around 1:40 p.m.
The district said students were immediately evacuated from the playground, and the entire school was placed on lockdown until APS Police could "assess the situation." The district added that the student was examined and cleared by the school nurse.
In an update from APS on Thursday night, the district said it has completed its investigation into the claims and found that the evidence - including surveillance video and student and staff statements - did not support the student's story.
"The timeline of events does not support the student’s allegation of being attacked on the playground by an armed man," a statement from APS said, in part.
APS said the police department notified the student's family that the claims were "unfounded."
The situation sparked a back-and-forth between the district's police department and the Atlanta Police Department; the latter of whom initially said they were "disappointed" that they had not been notified sooner by APS Police of the alleged attack.
"The incident took place at 1:40 p.m. and we were notified shortly before 6 p.m.," said Atlanta Police spokesperson Carlos Campos in a Wednesday statement. "We believe there were numerous measures that should have been taken during that time period to protect children in the area from further incidents and to immediately launch a search for the suspect."
However, APS countered, saying their police department followed procedure and immediately notified APD of the situation within 10 minutes of first receiving the claims, "not four to six hours later as has been erroneously reported," APS spokesperson Ian Smith said in an email on Thursday.
APD fired back in a subsequent email, however, saying, "The idea that the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department believes that a single phone call placed to a dispatch desk suffices as “notice” of a serious assault against a child is laughable at best, or poor police work, at worst. Reaching out to the local zone commander more than four hours after the incident was grossly inadequate for us to mobilize our resources for immediate assistance." (Click here to read the full statements from APS and APD)
In the latest statement, in which APS debunked the student's claims, the district said, "the investigation determined that school safety protocols were in place, ensuring that all students were supervised and accounted for at all times, including during the time of the alleged incident. APSPD dispatch recordings confirm that APSPD contacted the Atlanta Police Department 10 minutes after being made aware of the allegations. Further, as a courtesy, APS Police Chief Ronald Applin contacted APD’s local commander at the end of the day (6:00 p.m.) to ensure that APD was fully aware of the incident."
11Alive reached out to APD for comment; we are still awaiting a response at this late hour.
Atlanta Public Schools said they will release more information in a news conference, Friday morning.
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