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Dixon Police Say Shooting Report Was A Hoax

DIXON (CBS13) – Dixon Police say a reported home invasion and shooting early this morning was an elaborate hoax.

Police say they received a call around 4:00am this morning transferred from AT&T by a man claiming he and his wife had come home to their house on Carpenter Court and were confronted by gunmen. He stated that the woman had been shot in the neck, that he was hiding in a closet and that the suspects were still inside the home.

Police and SWAT responded as well as fire crews and a medical transport helicopter.

Police and law enforcement blocked off the neighborhood and told residents to stay inside as they surrounded the home where the alleged shooting took place.

"It turns out, it appears that someone had the resident's name, his approximate age and some understanding of the family structure. We wanted to make sure we were proceeding cautiously," said Dixon Police Chief Jon Cox.

While Chief Cox says the caller did give some correct information about the people living in the home, other information was inconsistent.

"Had information that was inconsistent with who lived at the house, we had movement inside that was not consistent with what was being reported," said Cox. "We were able to obtain the phone number of the father of the residence and we called his cellphone and determined that he was safe inside of his home."

Police then confirmed all the residents in the home were safe and no one was actually hurt.

"We have a lot of personnel out here at taxpayer expense so its very frustrating," explained Cox.

Chief Cox False 9-1-1 calls are a crime. Police are investigating but no suspects have been named at this time.

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