The small town of Hackleburg was whipped into a frenzy last Friday after local law enforcement said false statements were spread on social media.
“It has been brought to our attention that a post circulating on Facebook stated that a 911 call was made involving a suicidal individual and shots fired on Elgin Cochran Road. We would like to clarify the facts,” Hackleburg Police chief Kenny Hallmark said in a statement on Facebook.
Hallmark explained that two separate calls — shots fired and a suicide situation — were conflated into one incident, worrying residents that a shooter was on the loose.
“Due to the nature of the incidents occurring simultaneously, our department assisted by responding to one of the calls,” he said. “At no time was there a threat to Hackleburg School, students, staff, or the area surrounding the school. There is currently no threat in or around the town of Hackleburg. The Hackleburg Police Department will continue to serve and protect the public and will keep the community informed of any potential threats should they arise.”
Hallmark told WHNT that his office tried contacting the person who made the misleading and worrisome post, but they “refused” to cooperate.
Hallmark said local businesses and schools were negatively impacted by the false post. He hopes something can be done legislatively to help make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“There needs to be some legislation enacted to put some teeth in, make it ex post,” Hallmark told WHNT. “Now, you can have misinformation and put that out there, and it’s OK as long as you come back and retract it and put true facts out there. Now, if you refuse to do that, there needs to be some repercussion.”
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