By Dean Maddox, Public Safety & Crime Reporter

A lockdown at Placer High this week set off a rumor storm that could have powered half the town if you bottled it. By the time the school was cleared, residents had already built a full list of wild explanations for what supposedly happened.

According to the Auburn Police Department’s Facebook post, here is what people claimed they heard:

• A tweaker threatening officers
• A bear roaming the hallways
• An elderly man with a sword on the football field
• A student at the Confluence trying to stab a teacher
• And, of course, a loose alligator on campus

Police say none of that happened.
No bear. No alligator. No sword. No dramatic showdown of any kind. It was simply a technology malfunction that triggered a lockdown protocol.

The department added that real threats, if they ever occur, will be verified and communicated quickly.

For now, assuming you believe the official explanation, Auburn remains wildlife-free and sword-free.

But if you step outside tomorrow morning and find a twelve-foot reptile on your porch, or notice alligator belts suddenly appearing at the next police fundraiser, well, maybe the rumor mill was not as far off as they want us to think.

Until then, Auburn can relax. Or at least try to.