A large police presence in the area of Davis and Russell Streets in Sarnia turned out to be a case of "swatting".
Someone called police early Wednesday afternoon and told them there had been a shooting inside of a residence.
Officers quickly contained the area and brought in the Emergency Response Team (ERT) to assist. Police said they started to question the legitimacy of the call when they saw a person exit the home.
The ERT did a thorough sweep of the residence and confirmed the initial report of a shooting was false.
Police said "swatting" happens when a person deliberately makes a false report to emergency services, often involving serious violence such as a shooting or serious injury to a person, to prompt a large police response to a specific location.
They added swatting is extremely dangerous and places innocent members of the public at risk.
It can result in significant consequences to those targeted, and creates potentially volatile situations for responding officers who must make rapid decisions based on the information provided.
It also diverts critical police resources away from legitimate emergencies.
This incident is now being investigated by the Criminal Investigations Division (CID), which will work to identify the person responsible for the false report.
Police said making false reports is a criminal offence and will be treated with the utmost seriousness.
Further updates will be provided as they become available.
