Peachtree City police believe they were hoodwinked by a practical joker on a 911 call Friday — and they’re none too happy.
“It is a felony to make hoax calls to law enforcement, and they will be prosecuted,” Lt. Mark Brown said. “The police response was proportional with the reports by the 911 center.”
A heavy police presence of patrol cars and a SWAT team converged on Peachtree Station Circle around 5:10 p.m — warning residents to stay in their homes — after Fayette County 911 got a call from a person saying a gunman had shot someone in the subdivision.
But a search for the gunman and the wounded party went nowhere and officers began to believe that they were the victims of a stunt. The confusion showed on the police Facebook page. An initial post on the shooting investigation disappeared, then reappeared as officer tried to sort out the mess.
Most patrol cars and fire department trucks left Peachtree Station Circle not to long after responding,Channel 2 Action News reported, while police said they were remaining vigilant.
As late as 8 p.m. Friday, police still were not positive despite all units clearing out an hour before, according to the Facebook page.
“The 911 dispatcher reported that shots could be heard in the background,” Brown said. “While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary leads seem to indicate this call was a fake 911 call.”
And detectives, police warned, are still investigating. The focus, however, has changed.
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