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Elizabeth Dunbar
St. Paul, Minn.

Police: Woman gave false report leading to St. Paul College lockdown

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An investigation into a lockdown at St. Paul College in September has led to charges against a 42-year-old woman who is accused of filing a false police report.

The St. Paul City Attorney charged Charleeta Deon Brown after she reported seeing a man with a gun inside the college building. Her account to police on Sept. 23 led to a lockdown in which police officers evacuated and searched the building.

Brown told authorities she saw a man in an elevator reach up and take out a handgun. He was talking on his cell phone at the time and appeared upset about his financial aid, Brown told police.

More than 40 police officers responded, including the St. Paul Police SWAT Team.

Police said Brown told them about a month after the incident that she had made a false report and that there had never been a man with a gun.

City Attorney John Choi said shooting incidents on campuses across the country have led school and police officials to act quickly and decisively on reports like Brown's, and he said she should have to face consequences for the incident.

"The actions of the defendant in this case are akin to yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater," Choi said in a news release. "Any person who falsely reports the presence of an armed man in a school deserves the attention of the criminal justice system."