Fake shooting and hoax photos ‘no joke’
He added that while vehicles are chasing around responding to hoax calls they are unavailable for real emergencies and lives have been lost as a result of delayed responses.
At first glance the photograph of a man lying on the tarmac in a pool of blood near Margate pier – looked real.
However, the photos – posted on various WhatsApp groups last Thursday, April 15 – turned out to be a hoax, and what appears to be blood is actually tomato sauce.
Police spokesman Sergeant Sibu Ncane said Margate police received a complaint of a shooting which had occurred at Margate main beach near the pier but on arrival it appeared to be a false complaint.
“Nobody was shot or injured,” he confirmed.
Sgt Ncane said the public is warned to refrain from reporting false complaints as more resources are utilised unnecessarily, whereas they could be used in areas where they are most needed.
Prank calls and fake calls are a major problem for all emergency services.
Glen Preston of Med-Evac said paramedics were contacted repeatedly throughout the day about this case.
He said hoax calls in general are a huge burden on emergency services as every time someone makes a prank or hoax call they block emergency lines for someone who actually has an emergency.
Generally, he said that hoax calls, like this fake shooting, will result in multiple services responding, such as the police/law enforcement as well as KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – which means multiple vehicles and personnel involved.
“The fuel, wear and tear and other costs of each vehicle/crew rapidly adds up costing the economy millions annually.”
Mr Preston said this hoax shooting not only had them on alert to respond (as well as SAPS, Road Traffic Inspectorate and Ray Nkonyeni Municipality law enforcement) but for hours after the fact, he fielded calls from distraught family members and friends of the “deceased”.
“They were enraged when they finally believed us that is was a hoax,” he added.
He added that while vehicles are chasing around responding to hoax calls they are unavailable for real emergencies and lives have been lost as a result of delayed responses.
“This particular call and similar ones like bomb threats also have a big psychological impact on family or friends of victims or potential victims,” he said.
He stressed that the biggest issue is the risk those emergency personnel respond at high speed and bend traffic rules in an to attempt to save lives or property. This means, that not only are the emergency workers at huge risk of injury or death and other road users are also indirectly placed at risk as they give way to the emergency services rushing to a scene.
Robert Mckenzie of KZN EMS said fake calls to emergency services are not a joke.
“It’s not funny and has serious implications. We have many real emergencies to respond to with out also having to also deal with hoax calls. Emergency Whatsapp groups while they have their benefits, also need to be used responsibly. Just remember the story of the boy who used to cry wolf all the time.”
Mr Mckenzie said that when calling an emergency services please give them the following certain information.
1. A cell number of someone on scene, in case we can’t find the scene. 2. A street address or closest landmark (depending on the area) and 3. The details of what is wrong with the person who is sick and injured.
“While this may seem frivolous to the person calling we need to decide what kind to assistance to send,” he said.
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