A single phone call through the Northampton County 911 call center last Wednesday resulted in an emergency task force of city police descending on a shuttered, tense high school student body.

Liberty HS was locked down for several hours, its occupants ordered to remain stationary as police scoured the entire campus in a fruitless search for rumored gunmen.

Administrators later said there was no evidence of armed men anywhere in the school, and though nobody suffered more than a good scare and inconvenience, the event cannot be taken more seriously as officials look for the mystery caller.

Police Chief Mark DiLuzio said in a telephone interview Monday that while continuing the investigation, the department is reviewing its response to the emergency call to determine if any changes should be implemented.

DiLuzio said a campus-wide lockdown and search isn't easy, especially when social media enables rumors to emerge and spread. Each time new information is learned, "We have to believe it's real until it's verified by an officer," he said.

DiLuzio called social media a double-edged sword that helps keep family and friends informed, but also leads to the spread of misinformation.

"You have to be careful with what you post because we have to verify [everything]. We don't know what's true and what's false," he said.

DiLuzio said he has no figures prepared yet, but the incident came at a considerable cost to the city in money and man-hours, and he refused to diminish its severity by calling it simple mischief.

"This was not a prank," DiLuzio said adamantly. "It's a crime because it put a lot of parents in distress. People were emotionally hurt.

"I know a lot of people want answers. I want answers," the chief continued. "I don't like this because I'm a parent, and so are 99 percent of the cops on the force. We want to find this individual."

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said succinctly, "The matter is under investigation, and hopefully we can charge someone for what they did. Their actions caused tremendous fear and disruption throughout the community, which cannot be ignored."

Morganelli, a lifelong city resident, is also a Liberty alumnus.