Pinole police are investigating the possibility of a swatting incident targeting the Target store at 1400 Fitzgerald Drive today.
A swatting incident involves a prank call to emergency services that attempts to dispatch a large number of first responders to one address.
At about 11:35 a.m., Pinole police dispatch received a call reporting suspicious circumstances involving a subject possibly armed with a gun inside the store, according to police.
Officers responded with the assistance of Hercules police. They searched the store and did not locate a subject matching the description provided by the reporting party. All employees and patrons inside the store were safe, police said.
Officers were unable to confirm the reporting party’s story after reviewing video surveillance inside the store and statements by employees and patrons.
“Officers determined there were no issues inside the store and eventually cleared,” police said. “We are continuing to investigate the incident as a false report, possibly an incident of ‘swatting.'”
