UPDATE: Ashland police searching for caller who reported hoax shooting

ASHLAND − Police had their guns drawn Thursday afternoon, ready to rescue a victim — a call for help that proved to be a hoax.

Officers received a call to the 400 block of Ohio Street at 2:39 p.m. from someone who "stated that his dad shot his mom with a rifle in the living room," Police Chief David Lay wrote in a news release.

"The caller went on to say that he was in an upstairs bedroom and he was unsure if his dad still had the gun, or where he was located in the home," the release states.

City police and Ashland County sheriff's deputies arrived in force throughout the neighborhood. City firefighters helped close the roadway and EMS was standing by.

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"Law enforcement responded to the area, cordoned off the address and an investigator got on the line with the caller," Lay told the Times-Gazette from the scene.

Officers took cover behind a police SUV east of Elm Street with their weapons drawn. A Sherriff's Office K-9 unit arrived. Police asked area residents to stay in their homes and notified area schools.

The house proved to be vacant

Once they secured the area, officers realized the emergency call was not as emergent as they had been led to believe.

"While officers and deputies managed the scene, our detectives began communicating with the caller to gather more information," Lay said in the release. "The caller ultimately admitted that the report was false before disconnecting."

Officers are not sure if the caller was even at the given address.

"The home was found to be vacant," Lay wrote. "There was no evidence that substantiated a violent crime had occurred inside the house."

Investigators cleared the scene at about 3:40 p.m., reopening Ohio Street between Elm and Cottage streets.

Police are searching for the hoax caller

They may have left the area, but police have not stopped looking for the hoax caller.

"This incident will be investigated to determine if the caller can be identified and held accountable for making the false report," Lay wrote. "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed a new law that makes this crime a felony of the fourth degree and raises the penalty to a felony of the second degree if anyone is seriously injured as a result of these reckless acts."

Although nobody was arrested from the home, officers did take one person into custody during their response to Ohio Street.

Oddly, that arrest was unrelated to the hoax call. The chief said it was a case of "wrong place, wrong time."

"He just stumbled into the area and he was found to have some drugs on him," Lay said. "The arrest was for possession of drugs and having a weapon while under disability."

ztuggle@gannett.com

419-564-3508

Twitter: @zachtuggle

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: UPDATE: Ashland police searching for caller who reported hoax shooting