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SHOTS FIRED: Dad shot, Mom held hostage, son hiding - NOT!

A fake call made to a Morgantown Police Department number early Sunday morning - not 911 - resulted in the unnecessary dispatch of an array of Butler County law enforcement officers and emergency personnel.  The male caller, who falsely identified himself as Sean Sebastian, reported a shooting at 4867 Brooklyn Road in north Butler County.

Specifically, the caller told dispatch that someone had broken into their home, shot his father, taken his mother hostage, and that he was hiding from the assailant in the home.  The caller further indicated that the perpetrator was searching for him and that he "could see blood."  

The caller provided a fraudulent cell phone number but the number he was actually calling from showed up as a "Blocked" call at dispatch.  Since the call was made through the city police phone line and not actually 911, the number and identity of the caller have yet to be determined.

Butler County Sheriff Scottie Ward, Sheriff's Deputy Bobby Hooten, Morgantown Police Officer Denny Deweese, Butler County EMS, the Morgantown Fire Department, and ultimately AirEvac were all dispatched to the scene - which upon arrival turned out to be an abandoned home.  A sign on the two-story home indicates the house is in foreclosure and is property of a mortgage company.   

In a related incident, the Livingston County Sheriff's Department received a call at approximately 12:04 a.m. - just prior to the local call -  reporting a house fire at the same 4867 Brooklyn Road in Butler County.  According to Sheriff Ward, it is currently unclear as to the possible connection between the two incidents.

Butler County EMS Director Brian McKinney has been in contact with AT&T in an effort to identify the number from which the call was made and/or the identity of the caller.  According to McKinney, AT&T hasn't been able to identify the caller, though those efforts are ongoing.  

Law enforcement officers did locate the real Sean Sebastian at his home in Morgantown.  Sebastian stated to police that he had not made any call and that he had just returned home from serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

Making a False Report is a misdemeanor, though Sheriff Ward indicated that the perpetrator would likely face additional and possibly more serious charges once arrested.

Butler County EMS and the Butler County Sheriff's Department are jointly investigating this incident. 

Stay connected to Beech Tree News/WLBQfor the latest on this developing story.        

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Story by John Embry, Beech Tree News.  

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Comments

as a member of the Butler County Rescue Squad i must say this kind of act needs to carry a heavy penalty.Our county resources are often stretched thin and fake calls can result in a innocent person going with out the help they need in a real emergency.When these calls go out we treat everyone of them as A serious emergency i don't find anything about this kind of behavior of making false calls funny.
Being the person who was supposedly being held hostage that night I DON'T find it funny either! That is a horrible story for someone to make up on your family and I want whoever it was to be caught. Yes it did cost the county a lot of money and that is not good but it also caused my family to be very upset and wonder what kind of crazy person out there chose us at random and did that.
Thats my brother and i know he would never do anthing like that, i would really like to know whos doing this, my brother doesnt need this in his life.
Our emergency personnel's time is a terrible thing to waste, when they respond to a non emergency or a false emergency it takes time away from those who need their help, and it also time away from our responders families! I do not know the family who were falsly reported as being victimized, but I can not imagine what their familis were going through thinking the worst had happened then to did out thankfully it was all a hoax!


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