guns at school

Yesterday afternoon, I received a letter from Alex's school stating that they had gone on lockdown at some point during the day.  Apparently, they received word from the local police department that a gun was spotted outside the middle school that is right next door.  Really, just a stone's throw away.  The elementary school, middle school, community college, and a swimming center are all situated on one great big parcel of land. 

Around 4:30 yesterday the local news site reported that the sighting was being investigated as a hoax.  Now, here's my question:

How do they know it was a hoax?

Is it because they have found no evidence to support the contrary?  Is it because they couldn't locate the person with the gun?  Was it a student or an adult?  How close were they to the schools?  Were they on the property or along the road adjacent to the neighborhood?  Or, was it an adult with a concealed carry permit who was headed to a swim class that morning?  There are so many questions here, and so few answers.  I want answers, dammit.

I also would have preferred to have been notified via a phone call earlier in the day, rather than an easily-misplaceable letter after my son returned home from school.  I know other parents feel the same way.  Please, bother me!  Give me information like this that really is necessary!  Send me as many phone calls as you need to so I can ensure that my child is safe!

I am thankful that Alex's last day of public school is a week from today.  Yet, I'm worried that whatever might have almost gone down yesterday, if anything, might just be delayed a day or two.  I would love to withdraw him today, on grounds that the school is inept at notifying the parents when there really could be a problem.  Would I have been there to pick my child up in a heartbeat?  You betcha.  (not a Palin fan, but leaving that anyway because I said it first.)  Did the school system likely want to prevent that?  Oh yeah.  (totally a Kool-aid man fan, though).  

This reminds me of something similar that happened in high school, during the Columbine era.  But, that's a story for another day.