Studio City School Placed Lockdown After False Report Of Attempted Abduction

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA) — A Studio City charter school was briefly placed on lockdown Tuesday following a false report of an attempted abduction.

The LAPD responded to a report of an attempted abduction of an eight-year-old girl near Carpenter Community Charter School shortly before 3 p.m.

Students on campus were relocated to the school's auditorium as officials alerted parents.

The lockdown was lifted around 4 p.m., as students involved in the incident came forward to admit it was a hoax.

The school's principal, Joe Martinez, spoke with CBS2/KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen, revealing one of the students involved was supposed to attend an after-school program but decided instead to walk with a friend to one of their homes. When they arrived, they realized one of their mothers was home and left.

A driver spotted one of the girls running by herself and pulled over to ask what was happening.

"A little girl made an allegation that somebody -- a stranger -- grabbed her off the playground and took her off campus," Martinez said. "We contacted the authorities, contacted the district, school police, and went on lockdown."

The students later revealed the story was fabricated.

No students were reported harmed.