Police officials in Millis, Mass. say a rookie officer who said someone shot at his police cruiser Wednesday afternoon before it crashed and caught on fire made it all up.
The 24-year-old officer said he was traveling on Forest Road around 2:17 p.m. when he noticed a pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction when the shooting occurred, according to WCVB-TV.
When the two vehicles met, the officer said that the driver opened fire before his cruiser spun around and slammed into a tree before, bursting into flames as he attempted to avoid the gunfire.
"My cruiser's been shot at. I'm at Forest Road. It's going to be a dark maroon pickup," the officer radioed to dispatch during the incident.
Now officials are saying that the officer made up the story and fired the shot at his own patrol car.
"We have determined that the officer's story was fabricated," Millis Police Sgt. William Dwyer told the media. "The evidence indicates the shots were not fired by a suspect, and there is no gunman at large in or around the town."
The officer's radio transmissions sparked a massive manhunt for the alleged gunman, the neighborhood was immediately locked down and classes at area schools were canceled for Thursday.
Dwyer said that the officer -- who is new to the force and has not yet attended the police academy -- will be terminated. His name will not be released until the investigation is complete.
"I am very upset and don't know how to feel right now," Dwyer said. "The public is safe and should feel secure in their homes and the community."
