Women arrested for suspected fake 911 call in Arizona

Authorities say a woman has been arrested in the Phoenix suburb of Buckeye on suspicion of making a false 911 call that locked down an elementary school, panicked parents and tied up police resources for more than an hour.

The Buckeye Police Department says it received a 911 call about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday from a woman claiming a man with a shotgun was walking around Bales Elementary School in the city about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Phoenix. The school was placed on lockdown and police officers did not find a gunman or weapon.

Detectives investigating several residential burglaries determined the caller’s voice sounded like a woman they talked with at a home nearby that morning and arrested 27-year-old Melani Hendrick in the afternoon.