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Officers at the scene. Photo by Live Boston.
Shortly before 8 p.m., somebody called 911 to report a person shot on Greaton Road in West Roxbury - by somebody who might be holed up inside a house there with a pipe bomb.
Boston Police officers and commanders raced to the scene, near Schirmer Road. The SWAT unit was called in; so were sharpshooters and the K-9 unit. Officers ordered curious neighbors to get back inside; the T was asked to send a bus in case they had to be evacuated.
But it turned out to be a hoax: There was no shooting, no pipe bomb and no suspect inside. And now detectives are working to track down the person who made the call - who may have done something similar in Newton earlier in the day.
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Comments
There's been enough people
By anon
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 8:52pm
There's been enough people killed by this type of hoax that it should result in an (attempted) murder charge followed by hopefully federal jail time if he's across a state line. Make examples out of each and every one of these idiots.
A modest proposal - disband SWAT teams
By FakeBostonCharlie
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 9:13pm
They are a threat to our safety.
A better proposal
By dmcboston
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 9:27pm
Don't SWAT people.
Make it a felony, if it isn't already.
Oh these are serious federal crimes...
By Pete Nice
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 9:51pm
If you added up the max years in prison for this call here your probably looking at 10-100 years in a federal prison.
It should
By Don't Panic
Sat, 04/18/2020 - 9:28am
be a felony. Probably still a misdemeanor though.
Well in theory...
By Pete Nice
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 9:28pm
The swat team is trained to better handle these calls. A regular patrol officer has a better chance of shooting an innocent person than someone who is trained to handle them (along with SWAT teams come hostage negotiators, etc)
Again, that’s the theory behind having special units handling special situations. Bomb unit for bombs, etc, etc.
Victoria Snelgrove would like
By Nah
Sat, 04/18/2020 - 1:41am
Victoria Snelgrove would like a word, but she's dead so she can't.
Completely different situation
By Matt
Sat, 04/18/2020 - 9:23am
That was a riot with an officer using a non lethal load that happened to hit her in the eye. Not even relevant to this conversation.
Yea she would support SWAT
By Pete Nice
Sat, 04/18/2020 - 9:58am
Because they are highly trained unlike the half ass special ops group that was at that protest. Thanks for making my point.
"highly trained"
By anon
Sat, 04/18/2020 - 11:34am
To view any and every little thing as a threat.
There is a difference between "highly trained" and PROPERLY TRAINED.
Someone bearing a grudge...
By Lee
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 9:15pm
... against an inhabitant of the house, maybe?
Glad no one was physically harmed. Must have been extremely stressful for anyone present. Hope the caller is caught.
West Roxbury Swat Hoax
By Mary canducci
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 11:29pm
I truly hope the person(s) who did this is held accountable. Who ever it was had an entire neighborhood in a state of fear and confusion not knowing what was happening. To see police officers in one’s back yard fully suited up in swat gear and holding very large guns is something I hope I never see again.
At a time when people are sick and people are in fear of loosing a loved one to this horrible corona virus, I can not imagine anyone so callous as to pull a stunt such as this.
When was the last time the
By CH
Sat, 04/18/2020 - 2:33pm
When was the last time the police got a call telling the standard SWATting story (hostage situation, somebody already injured, etc.) that actually turned out to be legit? I'm no news junkie but I can't even remember when something like that really happened. I know they're legally obligated to respond to every call like this, but what if they just sent a regular cop to drive by first instead of mobilizing the whole cavalry?
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