Police: Ohio man’s joke led to active shooter response

CEDAR RAPIDS - An Ohio man faces a false reports charge after police responded to CRST for a bogus active shooter charge.

Cedar Rapids police and fire officials were called to a possible active shooter at CRST, 3930 16th Ave. SW, at 10:22 a.m. Nov. 25. The incident came after a woman called 911 to report she had received a text message from her boyfriend that indicated someone in the building had just fired a gun.

When police responded, however, they discovered the boyfriend, 24-year-old Robert A.L. Ulee, had sent the text to his girlfriend as a joke, according to a criminal complaint. He was arrested and charged with false report of an indictable offense to a public entity, a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.