Fresh Prince Lyrics Prompt Panic, School Lockdown

Receptionist thought kid was 'shooting some people outside of the school'
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2013 11:54 AM CST

A Pennsylvania school district went into crisis mode yesterday over a shooting "threat" that turned out to be misheard lyrics from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. High school student Travis Clawson, 19, unwittingly found himself the subject of a manhunt when the receptionist at his eye doctor's office called to confirm an upcoming appointment and got his voicemail. The greeting, to her ears, said he couldn't come to the phone because he was "shooting people outside of the school," the Beaver County Times reports.

You've guessed the punchline: The message was actually Clawson's rendition of Will Smith's line that he was "shooting some b-ball outside of the school." But police didn't realize that until after they'd locked down all the schools in the county, and sent a swarm of officers to apprehend the unsuspecting Clawson, who was in his guidance counselor's office. After an interrogation, and close inspection of the voicemail message, they decided not to press charges. It's unclear if Clawson accidentally mangled the lyrics, or if the receptionist simply misheard him. (More Fresh Prince of Bel Air stories.)

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