ASHLAND — Local city and county police officers responded to reports of a shooting — later determined to be a hoax — at the 400 block of Ohio Street Thursday afternoon.
At 2:43 p.m. the Ashland Police Division received a 911 call about a shooting in a house at 413 Ohio Street. Officers then cordoned off the area and swept the vacant house, Chief David Lay said.
“We cleared the residence that was identified by the initial caller, there was nothing to indicate a shooting had occurred, no other reports of gunfire in the area and we will be investigating the incident as a hoax,” he said.
Lay also said that as of Thursday afternoon, police did not know who placed the call.
Officers were going to call the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb squad to send a robot to clear the house, but decided against it once they discovered the call was a hoax, Lay added.
By about 3:30 p.m. first responders had cleared out of Ohio Street. Those that remained moved to a parking lot at 901 Cottage Street.
The Ashland Police Division has responded to other hoax calls in the past, Capt. Craig Kiley said.
“It’s sad that people make false reports like this, putting people’s lives in jeopardy and their safety,” he said.
