Last update - 00:00 07/05/2007
Police respond to false report of shooting terror attack near Ramle
By Roni Singer Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
Police responded Sunday night to a call from a person who falsely reported that a terrorist attack was allegedly taking place at Bilu Junction near Ramle.
Local police hurriedly dispatched several squad cars to the scene, only to discover that nothing had occurred there. The police suspect that the caller, who made his report at around 8:30 P.M., is a serial prankster who has recently reported a number of fictional security-related incidents. This time, he said that an armed man was firing a weapon at passersby, and added excitedly that there were three casualties lying on the ground.
Last month, police arrested a man from the central part of the county on suspicion that he had placed a bogus report regarding the abduction of an Israel Defense Forces soldier in the middle of Tel Aviv. The man reported that the car involved supposedly belonged to Palestinians. Police responded by immediately setting up roadblocks to stop the vehicle from leaving the Tel Aviv region. Meanwhile, the police tracked the cellular-phone number of the caller and were able to determine his exact whereabouts. The man was then apparently found to be a serial prankster.
Tel Aviv police have told Haaretz that more than half of the calls received by the phone operators at their emergency center are false alarms, bogus reports or questions that do not relate to police work.