False Report of Group Home Attack Snarls Friday Rush Hour

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports that a false report of a violent attack at a group home in Southeast prompted a large scale police response Friday.

The incident began at about 3 p.m., when a caller telephoned an ambulance service and reported that there was an attack by an armed assailant at a group home for disabled persons on Simpson Road. The ambulance service dispatcher called the Putnam County 911 Call Center, which in turn notified the Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s deputies and investigators responded and secured the perimeter around the house as the specially armed Putnam County Emergency Response Team (ERT) was mobilized.ERT members entered the house and found the report of the attack to be false. Authorities also checked on neighboring residences and found them to be safe and secure.

Simpson Road was closed to traffic for nearly three hours during the incident, which caused significant traffic backups and delays on surrounding roads as the Friday evening rush hour began.

Investigators are working to determine the identity of the person who falsely reported the attack. The case remains under investigation and anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (845) 225-4300. All calls will be kept confidential.