Autocorrect Results in School Lockdown

The bane of many mobile-device users, the autocorrect feature led to a bizarre incident where officials locked down two Georgia schools over fears that a shooting was about to take place.

West Hall senior and junior high schools were locked down after authorities received a tip about a text sent from a student that read, “Gunman be at west hall today.” Concerned about a potential scene similar to the one in Chardon, Ohio—where five students were shot and three died—authorities ordered both schools locked down.

It wasn’t until the matter was investigated further that police discovered the threat was an innocent mistake. The student in question had typed “Gunna be at west hall today.” “Gunna” in this case is cyberslang for “Going to.” Because the sender’s mobile phone did not recognize “gunna” as a word, it autocorrected to “gunman.” The message was also sent to a wrong number, which added to the confusion.

“It was a combination of odd circumstances,” Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks, of the Hall County Sheriff's Office, told the Gainesville Times. “We want to emphasize that the recipient did the right thing in reporting the message.”

Often the source of frustration or unintended comedy, autocorrect has led many to despise the feature. Some have gone as far as creating a Web site that posts unusual autocorrect errors. The West Hall incident also raises questions with respect to use of proper English by students when they’re not in class. While some experts claim there is an educational upside to informal cyberslang, others point to deteriorating writing skills as a reason to discourage it.

Police and school officials were quick to praise the message’s recipient for bringing it to the attention of authorities and said that the lockdown response was standard protocol.

“I am extremely proud of our school team members as they handled a challenging situation well,” Hall County Schools spokesman Gordon Higgins told the Times. “While this event caused a great deal of anxiety among students, staff and parents, be assured that we will always err on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of our boys and girls.”

Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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