Bogus Call Results in Large Police Force Surrounding Suffern Home

 By Mindy Cohn

This afternoon, a large police force descended on Lexington Avenue, as reported by Rockland Daily here. 

Emergency personnel arrived after Suffern Police received a call at approximately 2:25 p.m. from a male caller stating he was in residence at a home on Lexington Avenue and had just shot his brother with a handgun. The caller threatened to shoot any police officers that responded to the scene. 

Suffern Police Officers responded by setting up a perimeter around the house along with officers from the Ramapo Police Department and the Rockland County Sheriff's Office.

Telephone contact was made with a resident inside, and two individuals exited the residence and were subsequently interviewed by police. Both parties denied calling or knowing about a shooting inside the residence.

The Rockland County Reacts Teams SWAT team arrived on the scene and entered the residence, which was subsequently cleared.

In a press release, the Suffern Police Department stated that the incident appears to have been a swatting incident which is when a prank call is made to emergency services to dispatch many police officers to a particular address.

Although false reporting to emergency services is a federal and state crime and can be punishable by a prison term, swatting incidents are on the rise nationwide, creating a dangerous situation for all involved.

The incident is currently under investigation by the 2nd Police Department Detective Bureau.