Home | News | Lanier Technical College in lockdown after mobile phone autocorrects 'gunna go to school' to 'GUNMAN' in text

Lanier Technical College in lockdown after mobile phone autocorrects 'gunna go to school' to 'GUNMAN' in text

By Lena Sullivan / Dailymail 02/29/2012 20:15:00

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Mistake: It turned out a pupil at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Georgia, pictured, had meant to write 'Gunna go to West Hall this afternoon'

The autocorrect function for texting can often be a very useful tool when you're writing in a rush, but caused a scary situation for one school today.

A lockdown was issued on a middle and high school on Wednesday after a student sent a text saying: ‘Gunman go to West Hall this afternoon’.

It turned out the student at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Georgia, had actually meant to write ‘Gunna go to West Hall this afternoon’.

Tensions on safety in schools have been raised after three students were killed in an Ohio shooting on Monday at Chardon High School.

T.J. Lane, 17, allegedly killed Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr, 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16, with a .22-calibre pistol in the cafeteria.

In Georgia, the pupil sent a text to an unidentified person at 11:30am on Wednesday, who then told police, reported the Gainesville Times.

Authorities found the student, who said the auto-correct function on their phone had sent out the incorrect message - and to the wrong number.

Scare: West Hall came out of lockdown on Wednesday at 1:45pm and went back to 'normal operating procedure', reported the Gainesville Times

Ohio shooting: T.J. Lane, 17, allegedly killed Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr, 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16, with a .22-calibre pistol in the cafeteria on Monday

West Hall came out of lockdown on Wednesday at 1:45pm and went back to ‘normal operating procedure’, reported the Gainesville Times.

‘I am extremely proud of our school team members as they handled a challenging situation well,’ Hall County Schools Superintendent Will Schofield said.

‘Be assured that we will always err on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of our boys and girls,’ he told the Gainesville Times.

Back at Chardon High, the car park was jammed on Wednesday as teachers returned to the school for the first time since Monday's shooting and had to come to terms with the deaths.