Phony armed robbery report in west El Paso zaps police resources, puts schools on lockdown

EL PASO, Texas -- A "false report" of an armed robber on the loose triggered a "significant" police deployment and the lockdown of several schools in west El Paso on Monday morning, authorities said.

A woman had claimed to police that she was robbed by an armed man near the intersection of Bishop Flores and Martha Gale around 11 a.m.

As a result, authorities set up a perimeter, summoned police dogs and launched a helicopter to search for the gunman.

Since that reported robbery happened blocks away from Rosa Guerrero Elementary, it was placed on lockdown along with two other nearby schools in the area -- Polk Elementary and Franklin High School.

A police spokesman said charges were pending against the woman who made up the "false report." He said "significant resources" were tied up investigating the phony robbery, which led to a backlog of other police calls in the city.

The school lockdowns were lifted and the police perimeter was cleared as soon as authorities found out the robbery claim was phony and no gunman actually existed.