Cornelia police say investigators are working to determine the “root of the rumor” after a report of an active shooter near Ethicon proved false. The medical manufacturing plant off U.S. 441 Business was placed on lockdown while local law enforcement investigated.
According to Cornelia Police Chief Jonathan Roberts, the rumor began when an Ethicon employee got a phone call from a family member in Hall County that they heard there was an active shooter in or around Lanier Tech. “The telling of that story to fellow employees turned into mass texting that resulted in the false alarm of an active shooter at Ethicon,” he said.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. the Cornelia Police Department received a call (not the 911 center) asking if the police department was working an active shooter incident near Ethicon in Cornelia. That call came from the contracted security company at Ethicon.
“We immediately sent officers to Ethicon and contacted our 911 center to see if they had any calls. Upon arrival officers met with Ethicon Admin staff and determined there was no such incident,” Roberts said.
According to Roberts, the Sheriff’s Office heard the radio traffic and responded as well. Sheriff Krockum made contact with Hall County and Lanier Tech Police Department. Neither agency had knowledge of an active shooter incident. However, they there were actively investigating the rumor.
Roberts was unsure if Ethicon initiated their internal procedures to lockdown the facility. He adds that local businesses were not informed since the threat was not credible.
No arrests have been made. “This was a private conversation that somehow got taken out of context and mass texting resulted in this incident. There was no malicious intent to cause disruption,” Roberts said.
The investigation will now be focused in Hall County since the call originated in that jurisdiction. “We will provide Hall County with any support or information they need,” Roberts added.
Roberts feels that the city’s response was as fast as it could have been especially since the 911 center never received a call and the police department was never dispatched to the location.
He believes that Ethicon has a strong emergency response plan and to his knowledge they followed their plan to keep the staff and campus secure.
Due to how fast the information made it around and onto social media, Roberts does ask the community for their assistance in situations like this. “We do ask that if you ever feel like you are in danger or believe someone else is in danger that you call 911 first,” he said.
Law enforcement responded to the plant on U.S. 441 Business Wednesday morning after a student at Lanier Technical College in Hall County told a relative employed at Ethicon that there was a possible active shooter on GA 365.
Cornelia police say they confirmed there was no active shooter in the area. The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) backed up that finding, stating that a joint investigation by its deputies and police “has not found any credibility to the rumor.”
“The investigation is active and ongoing, and both the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and Lanier Technical College Campus Police Department are following up information on their end,” the sheriff’s office said on social media. HCSO added, “At this time, there is no information of a credible threat to the public.”
The information about a possible active shooter was released on social media but not distributed to community media outlets.
