Police are searching for the hoaxer who called in a fake 911 call about a bomb and hostages in a New Jersey neighborhood, and part of their investigation is looking at Xbox gamers who were playing each other in Halo at the time.
Bomb squads responded Sunday to a home on Newark Avenue in Kenilworth, Union County, when someone called 911 to report there were pipe bombs inside the home and two people being held hostage, according to police.
The person made the call over an Internet application similar to Skype and disguised his or her voice, police said. The caller also seemed familiar with the layout of the house.
Police evacuated neighboring homes and went inside. No explosives or hostages were found in the three-hour long search.
The resident, Travis Graves, was playing Halo on his Xbox, competing against other players, and now authorities are investigating them for possible connections to the prank.
Graves, says he has no idea who's behind the hoax.
"This was a really awful prank," he told NBC 4 New York. "Whoever did this, I hope they find him."
Local
Police estimate the cost of the police response in the thousands of dollars.
"It's a huge strain on manpower and overtime for everybody," said Kenilworth Police Chief John Zimmerman.
