Article content continued

Shooting on Brimwood Cr was a prank. Big YRP response. Reported as lady shot & kid hiding in closet. @Ornge canceled. pic.twitter.com/E7QAjvlpqq — Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) May 24, 2015

Const. Andy Pattenden, a media relations officer at York Regional Police, says these pranks have happened in the area before, and are difficult to prevent.

“Our communications people will do the best job they can to vet the information coming in. The challenge though is that time is of the essence. This, for us, would be considered an active shooting call,” Pattenden said in an interview with the National Post.

In this particular case it’s great that no one was injured. Traumatized I’m sure, but not injured

The resulting raid can be traumatic for the victims, according to Pattenden, as officers enter the home with guns drawn.

“In this particular case it’s great that no one was injured. Traumatized I’m sure, but not injured,” Pattenden said, though he is unaware of any cases where families have been injured by police.

In the aftermath of these incidents, police take steps to try to explain the situation to the victims and ensure their recovery, he said.

“We’re not just going to burst in and then run away,” Pattenden said. “So any amount of time that would be required to talk to all of the family members would be taken. In the event that they were still upset, victim services could be called in due to the traumatic nature of the situation.”

Pattenden noted there is an ongoing investigation to try to find the prank caller, but doing so will be difficult.