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Tag:
Hoax
Westport, CT
Police & Fire
Bomb Threat, Report Of Gunmen Force Bedford Middle School Lockdown; Police Now Say It Was Hoax
Police are investigating after a bomb threat forced a lockdown at a Fairfield County school Monday morning, June 8, and prompted a massive multi-agency response. Administrators at Bedford Middle School in Westport received a call at the school's main office just after 10:30 a.m. reporting explosive devices inside the building and claiming armed individuals were on campus, Westport police said. The school was immediately placed on lockdown. As a precaution, nearby Staples High School was also placed under a shelter-in-place order for about an hour, police said. Police and K-9 teams from Fai…
Princeton, NJ
Police & Fire
Swatting Hoax Hits Princeton Library: Police
Princeton Public Library was the victim of a swatting hoax on Thursday, Aug. 28, authorities said. Officers responded to the library at 65 Witherspoon St. for a report of a person with a gun, Princeton police said. Officers searched the area, did not locate anyone and confirmed the report was not credible and a hoax, police said. "These incidents are disruptive, create unnecessary fear, and divert critical public safety resources away from genuine emergencies," Princeton police said.
Nyack-Valley Cottage, NY
Police & Fire
Swatting Hoax Prompts Heavy Police Response In Valley Cottage Neighborhood
A false report of gunfire brought police to a Rockland County neighborhood on Monday, Aug. 25, but investigators later confirmed the call was a swatting hoax, authorities announced. Officers rushed to Tamar Drive in Valley Cottage earlier on Monday after receiving a report of shots fired, the Clarkstown Police Department said at noon. After investigating, police determined there was no threat to the public and that the call was a deliberate hoax. The case has now been turned over to the Detective Bureau, which will work to track down whoever placed the call. "Officers will thoroughly in…
Drexel Hill-Upper Darby, PA
Schools
Second Hoax At Villanova University Sparks Police Response Ahead Of Classes
Villanova University faced a second false emergency report involving a weapon on campus Sunday, Aug. 24, one day before classes were scheduled to begin, Radnor Township Police confirmed. Officers were called to Austin Hall after a report of a possible threat, but police later confirmed the call was unfounded. Law enforcement searched the building, cleared the scene, and worked to restore normal operations. The investigation into the hoax is ongoing. The incident comes just three days after a fake active shooter report at Villanova’s law school sent the campus into chaos during orientation a…
Pascack Valley, NJ
Police & Fire
Fake ICE Raid Tip Sent Westwood Into Hysteria: Police Working To Uncover Who Did It
Police are investigating a fake immigration raid warning that caused widespread panic in one Bergen County town, they said. A misinformation campaign falsely claimed that the Westwood Police Department told a local church that ICE raids would take place on Friday, June 13, the department said. The person or people responsible for the act purported that the Westwood Police Department contacted a local church, saying that immigration raids would be taking place, Westwood police said. “This misinformation spread like wildfire and led to an unnecessary level of hysteria in our community.…
East Brunswick, NJ
Police & Fire
East Brunswick Elementary School Victim Of Swatting Hoax: Police
An elementary school in East Brunswick was the victim of a “swatting” incident on Monday, June 9, authorities said. At 1:16 p.m., officers received a call from an unknown individual threatening an active shooter incident at Central Elementary School at 371 Cranbury Rd, East Brunswick police said. Officers responded to the school and met with school security officials and an on-scene investigation determined there was no active shooter threat and it was a “swatting” hoax, police said. The incident remains under investigation, police said.
Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
Swatting Threat Prompts Lockdown At Fort Lee Middle School, Police Say
A swatting incident forced a lockdown of a Fort Lee middle school on Wednesday morning, Feb. 19, after faculty received alarming voicemails about a potential attack at the hands of a student, authorities said. The Fort Lee Police Communications Center was alerted at 8:07 a.m. after Lewis F. Cole Middle School staff reported two concerning messages suggesting a student was planning to attend school and cause harm, police said. Officers responded immediately, and out of an abundance of caution, the school was placed under a shelter-in-place order, authorities said. The Bergen County Sheriff's…
Bridgeton-Upper Deerfield, NJ
Schools
Girl Listed Targets Of School Shooting 'To See How People Would React,' Bridgeton Police Say
A girl was taken into custody after police in New Jersey said she made a school shooting threat on social media "to see how people would react." Bridgeton police were made aware of the threat of a shooting at the Broad Street School on Thursday, Sept. 19, they said. "This threat was posted to Instagram and other social media applications," police said. "On the post there were many names listed as potential targets of the shooting." Following an investigation, police tracked down the girl who posted the threat and arrested her, they said. "It was learned during this investigation that the …
Waterbury, CT
Police & Fire
Shooting Threats Made Against Crosby High, Another School
Shortly after police in Connecticut arrested a 15-year-old after accusing him of making a hoax shooting threat against a high school in New Haven County, officers received another message of violence, authorities said. The teenager is accused of making a social media post around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, that claimed there would be a shooting at Crosby High School in Waterbury, police said. The threat was determined to be a hoax, and authorities charged the 15-year-old with disturbing the peace in the second degree and second-degree threatening, Waterbury Police said.&…
Hempstead, NY
News
Bomb Hoaxer Who Targeted Jewish Hospitals On LI Was Motivated By Antisemitism, Feds Say
A man is facing federal charges in connection with a series of bomb threats that were made against Jewish hospitals in New York. Domagoj Patkovic, age 31, of Portland, Oregon, is charged with making bomb threats and related offenses in an indictment that was unsealed in Oregon federal court on Tuesday, Aug. 20. According to prosecutors, Patkovic and others called in bomb threats to Jewish hospitals and care centers in New York City and on Long Island beginning in May 2021. During the calls, they allegedly made violent threats and threatened to detonate explosive devices. Patkovic himself…
Clifton Park, NY
Police & Fire
Body In River Hoax Sparks Police Response In Capital Region
At first glance, it had all the markings of a heinous crime. But authorities in Saratoga County said what appeared to be a dead body wrapped in plastic and duct tape and floating in a river was just a sick joke. Mechanicville Police were called to the Anthony Kill on Thursday, May 30, after someone came across two suspicious packages that seemed to resemble a concealed human body. However, when officers cut the plastic open they were relieved to find that it just contained stuffed fabric shaped into a person’s outline. “Two suspicious packages designed to look like a dead body were disco…
Hampden-Silver Spring, PA
Police & Fire
Canceled Shelter In Place Order Due To Hoax, Hampden Twp. Police Say (
Update
)
A police incident that allegedly prompted a shelter-in-place alert to be issued in part of Hampden Township, turns out to have been a hoax, according to the same police supposedly involved in the incident. The fake incident was on Red Spruce Lane in the Pinehurst Neighborhood around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29, according to Cumberland County officials. "Hampden Township Police are asking residents within a 1/2 mile radius to shelter in place and to stay away from doors and windows," officials stated in the release. Minutes after the alert was issued the county released an update c…
Allentown, PA
Police & Fire
Bank Robbed In Allentown While Police Respond To 'Hoax' Threat At Muhlenberg College: APD
An Allentown bank was robbed just after police were called about an armed suspect at Muhlenberg College midday Monday, May 6, according to authorities. Allentown police said they were dispatched to the West Chew Street campus around 12:15 p.m. following an anonymous call. Campus police ordered students and community members to shelter in place. Officers eventually "determined that the call was a hoax," APD said. While police were still on the scene, dispatchers were called about an armed robbery at the 120 College Drive Wells Fargo, authorities said. Police said they "secured the scene"…
Newark, NJ
News
(Update) Threats Force Newark-Bound Plane To Return To Boston; Passenger Removed From Flight
Update: The call to New Jersey officials that forced a Newark-bound flight to return to Boston was a hoax, Massachusetts State Police said on Monday. The man removed from the flight posed no threat to the plane's safety, never made threats, and is now cooperating with police. Investigators said they will now turn their focus to finding the person who made the fake-threat call to New Jersey police. Original: A plane headed to Newark Airport over the weekend was forced to turn around after authorities received a tip that a passenger had made threats of violence. Delta Airlines fli…
Allentown, PA
Police & Fire
Shooting Hoaxes Prompt Police Presence At Lehigh Valley Schools
Law enforcement is investigating after phony reports of shootings with multiple victims at a pair of Lehigh Valley high schools prompted a police response early on Wednesday, March 29. It started in Allentown at about 7:45 a.m., city police said in a statement. Dispatchers were told that several people had been shot at William Allen High School, but offciers quickly cleared the building and determined there was no threat after meeting with school staff, the department said. Then, just before 8 a.m., state police in Northampton County were called about an active shooter at Catasauqua High…
Lynn, MA
Police & Fire
Update
: The Satanic Temple Of Salem Receives Bomb Threat: Police
Traffic was stopped for a bomb threat directed at the international headquarters of the Satanic Temple, officials say. The bomb threat was made against the the non-theistic religious organization housed at 64 Bridge Street, according to the Salem Police Department. The threat was determined to be a malicious hoax, according to a post made around 11:15 a.m. by police. The email, which we received as well as other media and law enforcement, further made a reference to Allah and threatening "Satanic degenerates." — Dustin Luca (@DustinLucaSN) February 21, 2023 Police have closed Bridge St…
Albany, NY
News
Vengeful Gambler Admits To Mailing White Powder To NY Gaming Commission
A 73-year-old man has admitted to threatening employees at the New York State Gaming Commission and mailing the agency envelopes full of white powder. Brent Carter, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty to conveying a hoax and false information in federal court in Albany Friday, Jan. 13. Federal prosecutors said Carter left numerous voicemails for employees at the Gaming Commission’s headquarters in Schenectady between October 2017 and November 2018, often using threatening language. Carter also admitted that between 2019 and 2021, he mailed four letters containing white powder and other substan…
Albany, NY
News
Hoax Bomb Threat In Capital District Under Investigation
A 911 call reporting an armed man with pipe bombs in the Capital District was all just a hoax, police said. Officers were called shortly after noon Monday, Aug. 15 following reports of a man who allegedly had a gun and had placed two pipe bombs in Schenectady near Webster Street and 7th Avenue. Responding officers blocked off the surrounding area and evacuated several nearby homes out of precaution, Schenectady Police said. The call prompted officers from outside agencies to respond, along with a Schenectady Police K9 unit. But after a thorough search and investigation, police deter…
Brookfield, CT
Schools
CT State Police, Agencies Release Statement On New Social Media School Threats
As a host of fake social media posts circulating online about potential school threats on Friday, Dec. 17, two Connecticut state agencies are investigating. In a statement released on Thursday, Dec. 16, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and the Connecticut State Police reassured the public they are investigating the hoax but said they have not "yet identified any specific or credible threats to any schools within the State of Connecticut." The posts and rumors started on TikTok and have been circulating for several days across the country, making their way onto addi…
Brookfield, CT
News
CT Man Accused Of Mailing Threatening Letters, Some With White Powder
A 70-year-old Connecticut man could face a prison sentence of 15 years and a fine of $250,000 for allegedly mailing letters to a victim threatening to harm them and their spouse, some of which contained a white powdery substance that the man wrote: "could be rat poison or ricin." Testing of one of the letters, sent in October of this year, determined that the substance added by sender Nicholas Sepesko, of Hamden, was harmless calcium carbonate, according to the office of U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John H. Durham. The contents of the other two letters containing the substance rep…
Jersey City, NJ
Police & Fire
Possibly Bogus Calls Of Suicide, Shots Fired Clear Jersey City Building
A Jersey City apartment building was evacuated Monday as police responded calls of shots fired and a suicide attempt, which authorities say could both be bogus. While city’s emergency services unit responded to 18 Winfield Ave. around 12:40 p.m. on reports of shots fired, a second distress call was made to a suicide hotline claiming the same address, City Spokeswoman Kim Wallace-Scalcione said. The entire location was evacuated and the calls were deemed unfounded, with no injuries or victims reported, she said. “It is unclear at this time whether or not these calls were a hoax,” Scalcione …
Worcester, MA
Police & Fire
Webster Police: 'Attempted Child Abduction' Was A Hoax
A girl has admitted to lying about an attempted abduction in Webster. An unidentified 11-year-old girl has confessed to lying when she said someone tried to kidnap her on the evening of Monday, Aug. 10, police said. “The child admitted the story was a fabrication, and this fact was verified by Webster Police Detectives,” the police said. “There was no alleged abduction.” A false report was made on Aug. 10 at around 5:42 p.m. to the Webster Police claiming an attempted abduction. All available police were put on the case and a description of the “suspect” was circulated to other police depa…
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
The Last Word On 'Momo Challenge': It’s A Cruel Hoax Playing On Your Paranoia, Mom
You know what some say is worse than a bogus video called "The Momo Challenge" that encourages children to harm themselves or others? A viral social media explosion that scares the pants off their parents. Yes, teen suicide continues to plague the U.S. But in a country of nearly 326 million, there hasn’t been a single reported incident of a child responding to "The Momo Challenge” by taking pills, stabbing someone or harming themselves, authorities said this week. “Please be aware that many trusted sources say IT IS A HOAX,” said Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo, one of the top l…
Hackensack, NJ
News
Scam
ALERT: Don’t Forward ‘Got Another Friend Request From You’ Facebook PM -- It’s A Hoax
You can stop forwarding that latest warning from your Facebook friends about your account being cloned. You weren’t. It’s bogus. And you're just making it worse. It starts out: “Hi….I actually got another friend request from you yesterday…which I ignored so you may want to check your account…” Then it tells you to “hold your finger on the message until the forward button appears…then hit forward….” Your account isn’t sending duplicate friend requests. And you didn’t receive a request from the person you’re forwarding it to. You’re simply doing it because the message tells you to. DON’T. …
