House in Tarentum swarmed by police after a hoax call was made claiming man killed his wife inside

TARENTUM, Pa. — Police are investigating a hoax call that led multiple departments to a home in Tarentum Saturday afternoon.

Frazer Township Police Chief Terry Kuhns tells Channel 11 they received a phone call from a man claiming to have just shot his wife and threatening to shoot himself.

“What made us believe it was legitimate was whoever made the call made a second phone call and reported themselves to be a neighbor walking his dog past this residence and heard two gunshots,” Kuhns said.

So, what happened? Kuhns says someone in the house had been involved in a disagreement on the app Discord and believes that led to the hoax call from a spoofed phone number.

It’s a frustrating trend for law enforcement, especially following hoax calls to several local schools.

“Obviously, this creates an extremely dangerous situation, not just for police officers, but for the public in general,” Kuhns said.

He has a message to the caller.

“Other than get a life? Do something productive with their life.”

We spoke with the homeowner off-camera. He told us the situation had him pretty shaken.

Frazer Township Police are leading the investigation but told Channel 11 they may involve other agencies like the FBI.

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