Bend business owner: Hoax call could be retaliation

Bend police said they are using as many resources as they can spare to try to find out who made a false shooting report that shut down several downtown streets on Saturday morning and prompted a major “active threat” call-out of officers.

Police said they responded to an active threat at Yellowknife Wireless on Greenwood Avenue, blocked several streets and advised people to stay out of the area. They said s omeone called dispatchers and said he shot a woman and was prepared to shoot police.

Police said there were a couple red flags about the phone call. T here was no caller ID registered at dispatch, and nothing the suspect said matched up with what police found when they arrived at the scene.

Police have dedicated two officers to focus on this case. As one officer put it, they feel it’s “absolutely a danger to the public.”

The owner of Yellowknife said he’s been trying to figure out why his business was targeted.

“It seemed like it could be a retaliatory thing, from an ex-employee or a disgruntled customer,” Chris Cappuccio said Monday. “But it’s a strange way to retaliate.”

Police said it was a male voice on the phone, and believe the call may have been made over the internet, rather than on a landline.

Cappuccio said he listened to the suspect’s phone call, but he did not recognize the voice.

He said it could be a case of “swatting,” a term for prank calls to emergency services aimed at bringing numerous officers (including SWAT teams) to a particular location.

“This can be very dangerous,” Cappuccio said. “If the cops come into the situation and they end up shooting somebody, or something like that, because they’re called into what’s supposed to be a tense situation, the person who’s responsible for this can get charged. It has happened in the past, and I hope it happens here.”

Police asked anyone with information that could help their investigation to call the non-emergency dispatch phone number: 541-693-6911.