The Alexandria Police Department got a fake phone call Thursday afternoon warning that a man with a gun was walking into the 7-Eleven at Mount Vernon Avenue and W. Glebe Road, intent on committing a robbery.
Police believe that the call to the Alexandria Department of Communications Center was made through Caller ID Spoofing — concealing an identity by deliberately falsifying data sent to a Caller ID display.
“Caller is reporting that an individual with a large gun is walking in the 7-Eleven,” an APD dispatcher said just before 2 p.m. “The caller believes the subject is about to commit a robbery, but disconnected from the line.”
Police checked surrounding businesses and unsuccessfully tried reaching the caller. Responding officers were told that the call was made from a spoofing number and were called off about nine minutes later, at 2:08 p.m. Staff at the 7-Eleven said that nobody with a gun walked into the store at 2 p.m.
APD has seen its share of spoofing calls in recent days. Alexandria City High School was put on lockdown on March 20, when a male called 911 to report seeing a man with a gun in the school parking lot.
False summoning of police is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.
