A 29-year-old Chicopee man has been arrested for calling in a false active shooter report.
Just before midnight Thursday, Chicopee Police dispatch received a call that there was an active shooter inside the Rumbleseat Bar on Springfield Street. The caller stated that there was one person shot inside and patrons were fleeing the bar in panic.
Every police cruiser in the city was dispatched, as well as the fire department and ambulances.
When officers arrived, they saw a man standing across the street from the bar on a cell phone and pointing at the bar.
When officers entered the bar, they found business as usual. Officers asked the bartender about a victim and she said there were no victims and was confused as to why police were there.
Officers explained the 911 call and the bartender immediately said that she had refused to serve a man in a white t-shirt. She pointed outside and told police he was just standing outside.
Police left the bar and found the man who they had seen when they first arrived. The man, identified as 29-year-old Joshua Santiago of Chicopee, gave officers conflicting stories, saying his phone was dead, but officers confirmed he made the 911 call from his phone.
Santiago was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, false report to a public safety dispatch and misleading a police officer.
Police are using this incident to remind people never to make false reports.
About the Author
