FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A report of a man with a gun led to lockdowns in downtown Frankfort Wednesday afternoon.
Around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, Kentucky State Police said they got a report of a person with a gun at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Mayo Underwood Building in downtown Frankfort.
We walked out front and the police officer told us to go back to the bathroom or into our office," said Shannon Martin, who works in the building. "We went and barricaded ourselves in my office because it’s the safest office on that floor."
Martin and two colleagues huddled in her office for an hour or so. She said it was nerve-wracking.
"Texted, turned the lights off, stayed quiet, messaged family, messaged our boss who had already left, saying 'Let somebody know we’re in here. We are hiding,'" she said.
Officers from several agencies arrived on Mero Street within minutes and began the process of trying to find a gunman or any possible victims, but it soon became apparent, this wasn't at all what they had feared.
"We responded, cleared both buildings, no sign of any active shooter. there's no threat to the public," said Trooper Josh Satterly of the Kentucky State Police.
Police said they couldn't find anything at all. They checked each floor of the building and the parking garages. This comes just a few weeks after a gunman killed five coworkers in Louisville, so active shooter safety is top of mind for people. Martin said they do drills regularly and appreciated the police response.
"I think it’s good that they were active in responding, trying to take care of things the best they could. Nowadays, you have to take everything seriously whether it is or not," she said.
Now, investigators are looking into the source of the call. They'll try to figure out if someone saw something they believed was suspicious or if someone knowingly called in a false report.
"At this time, it's too early in the investigation to tell. As you know, swatting is a Class-D felony in Kentucky so at least we can prosecute if it is," Satterly said.
Either way, police and the community in Frankfort are thankful things played out this way, instead of something much darker.
