A former Walmart manager is accused of contacting an employee with a false active shooter alert in the Butler Township store, police said.

A Walmart employee at the Butler Commons location received text messages from Trent Edward Zaremba that read “code green” and “code green active shooter” Sept. 27, according to charging documents.

Zaremba, 24, of Butler, was charged with one misdemeanor count each of terroristic threats and disorderly conduct following the incident.

Police said the employee received the text messages around 2:30 p.m., and upon arriving at work about three-and-a-half hours later, reported the threat to her manager at that time. Police said Walmart management decided not to lock down the store at that time.

Attempts to reach a Walmart representative about the incident were unsuccessful.

Police later took Zaremba into custody. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 16 before District Judge Kevin O’Donnell.

According to Walmart’s website, employees undergo a virtual reality active shooter training where they decide what actions to take in response to an active shooter. Employees practice the “Avoid, Deny, Defend” method for active shooting events, the website said.

The Avoid, Deny, Defend strategy was developed in 2004 as part of Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. Avoid means to avoid detection and escape the area; deny means to hide or barricade yourself; and defend means to fight back as a last resort.