“Auto Correct” Phone Mishap Forces Schools Into Lockdown

Message should have read “gunna,” but was automatically changed to “gunman”

The auto correct feature on a cellphone turned an innocent text message into a serious threat, prompting the lockdown of two Georgia schools.

The text, accidentally sent to the wrong number by a local college student, had originally read: “gunna be at west hall today,” but was auto corrected to “gunman be at west hall today,” according to the Gainesville Times.

Just before noon on Wednesday, police notified West Hall middle and high school officials to issue a mandatory lockdown immediately after a West Hall community member reported the alarming text message.

After police investigated and tracked the origin of the number that sent out the message, they learned of the auto correct mishap.

Authorities said the person who received the ominous message “did the right thing” in reporting the matter.

"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."

Hall Superintendent Will Schofield said in a statement to the Gainsville Times that he believed the school handled the high-tension situation well, especially given that the incident occurred just days after an Ohio high school student shot dead three students.

Autocorrect – the culprit of text messages gone wrong – is notorious for causing humorous miscommunication between friends, family and lovers. Click here to view other epic text fails. 

Contact Us