***  WATCH ***  BARNSTABLE OFFICERS INVESTIGATE SWATTING HOAX W/ GUNSHOT SOUND IN BACKGROUND…

HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS –  [HN VIDEO NOTES]  –  As you will see in the following HN Video, Barnstable Police patrol units responded to an address on Compass Circle at around 2:00 a.m. this morning –  Wednesday, 8/7/2024 –  after a caller to the BPD’s business line said he possibly just shot his father and that he had his mother tied up.  Because the call came in on the business line, officers likely became suspicious that the call could possibly be a hoax, but they needed to handle the situation as if it were real, nonetheless.  A Hyannis FD Ambulance was called to the area of Compass Circle in order to stage nearby.  The call became even more concerning and possibly not a hoax when a dispatcher reported hearing a gunshot over the phone, in the background.  At another point during the call, a female could reportedly be heard crying in the background.  Officers continued to move in and surround the residence, where they were eventually able to make contact with an occupant.  There had been no shooting and a police sergeant on scene radioed that it ended up being a “SWATTING” hoax.  Moments later, police were dispatched to a separate incident, at a hotel on Main Street, for a what turned out to be a mental health issue where another possible shooting was falsely reported.  It’s uncertain whether the two false shooting reports could possibly be related… but at this point, HN has received no indication that they are.  The BPD is investigating and there are no further details available at the time of this report… The following HN Video highlights the Compass Circle scene and police radio transmissions… [HN VIDEO –  PRESS PLAY] P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is brought to you by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band…  [CLICK IT/CRANK IT!  HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]