Body Cam Video Shows Police Response To Fake Active Shooter Call At Nathan Hale High School

Tulsa Police have released body camera video showing dozens of officers racing to Nathan Hale High School in September for an active shooter call that turned out to be bogus.

Police later arrested a 16-year-old student accused of hiding in a closet and calling 911, saying there was someone in the school with an AK-47.

Related: 16-Year-Old Arrested, Accused Of Calling In Fake 'Shooter' At Nathan Hale High School

Police say these fake calls not only waste resources but are dangerous for everyone involved.

Police say an active shooter call is the most serious call they can get, especially at a school, so they send every officer possible. Around 60 officers raced to Hale High School for what turned out to be a prank, which means people who actually needed help in Tulsa couldn't get it.

The body camera video shows officers getting to Nathan Hale High School in September after someone called 911 saying there was a man walking around the school with a gun.

An officer can be heard saying to an employee: "They're saying there's a shooter on the third floor with an AK-47."

The call came from inside the school, which is why it was such a high priority.

"We are still trying to locate, at the time, who is calling it in, trying to get ahold of that person, figure out what is happening, but when we first get there, we are not seeing any indication that there was an active shooter, but that is not necessarily indicative that there isn't one,” said Captain Richard Meulenberg with Tulsa Police.

Every TPD officer trains every year on how to respond to active shooters, which means going in and immediately identifying the threat, and if they can’t find the shooter, then searching the entire building.

"What people probably wanted to see is we are rushing through the halls, but that's not how it works. If we don't have an actual identifiable target, someone we know is shooting, we have to be meticulous. We can't miss something. We can miss that one little cubby,” said Meulenberg.

Police later figured out it was fake. Police say these calls put kids in the schools in danger, it puts people on the roads in danger, plus people who actually have an emergency have to wait.

"If you want to put poop on someone's porch, that's a prank. But calling and saying there is an active shooter, in today's environment, that's not a prank; that's completely irresponsible."

A student at Hale Middle School called 911 last month saying there was a student with a gun, so police responded the same way. But that time, police did find a student with an airsoft pistol that looked like a real gun.