Hoax Results in Closed Hudson Valley Roadway

An earlier report of a hostage situation in Garrison resulted in the closure of Route 9D and the lock-down of local schools.

The hoax, also called 'swatting', occurs when an individual phones in a fake hostage situation to authorities, resulting in a large scale police response. Often times in these situations, police get to the scene and there ends up being no issue. This is a terrible drain on resources and a down right waste of time.

According to a Putnam County Sheriff press release, at approximately 10:00am this morning a call was made to the sheriff's office stating a woman and her son were being held at gunpoint. The home in question is located just off Route 9D, and the road was shut down for nearly 2 hours as a result. Authorities ended up moving in on the house and determined the situation to be fake.

Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith had this to say about the situation:

"A false report like this one goes way beyond a prank–it is the product of a sick, twisted and criminal mind. Falsely reporting an emergency causes serious disruptions in a community and puts many innocent persons at risk as officers are responding rapidly to the call."