Sonoma County Boy, 12, Accused In False Report: Police

SANTA ROSA, CA— A 12-year-old boy is accused of making a false report of an emergency Tuesday night that tied up police, fire and medical resources for 45 minutes, the Santa Rosa Police Department said.

The incident started around 9 p.m. Tuesday when a juvenile called 911 and said his mother shot his father in the head at a residence on South Boas Drive near state Highway 12 in Santa Rosa, police said in a news release.

"The juvenile reported his mother still had the gun and was hiding in the bathroom of their apartment," police said. "Based on the severity of the circumstances reported, numerous Santa Rosa Police personnel responded to the incident, along with Santa Rosa Fire personnel and AMR personnel."

Officers surrounded the residence and tried to make contact with the boy who was supposed to be waiting out front. But he was nowhere to be found and they could not contact him directly because he called from a disconnected cell phone number, police said.

They were not sure whether he went back inside the apartment or left the area, so a SWAT team was assembled from among the officers who were on scene.

"Officers were unsure of the severity of injuries the reported victim sustained and were trying to make contact at the residence as quickly and safely as they could," police said.

As the SWAT team was preparing to deploy its plan to make contact with the people inside the apartment, Santa Rosa police dispatchers found a contact number for the residence in question.

It turned out the originally reported events were false and the occupants of the residence were unaware of any police activity in the area until they were contacted by phone, according to police.

"This call tied up approximately 15 police officers and supervisors for approximately 45 minutes, along with fire department and AMR personnel," Santa Rosa police said. "This obviously was a drain on resources for the city while it lasted and had the potential to cause other hazards for officers not involved in the incident, due to the drain on resources. It also created a dangerous situation for the occupants of the apartment in question and the surrounding residences."

As units cleared the scene, dispatchers with Santa Rosa PD and RedComm researched the initial call and some previous, unrelated calls that police said were also determined to be false reports.

That information along with the possible identity of the suspect was forwarded to a patrol officer.

"The officer followed up and determined a 12-year-old suspect was responsible for the false call this evening and possibly for previous false calls to Santa Rosa Police and RedComm dispatch centers," police said.

Officers went to the boy's residence and arrested him on suspicion of felony false reporting of a criminal offense. The boy — his name was not disclosed because of his age — was released to his family with a referral to report to juvenile authorities.