MILLBURY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Massachusetts State Police were called to an empty restaurant in Millbury early Tuesday morning after a caller threatened to "shoot up" the place in what authorities now believe was a prank call.
Millbury Police got a call around 1 a.m. from a man claiming to have a gun who said he wanted to shoot people at the Wheelock Inn on Wheelock Avenue, but lost contact with that man.
State and Millbury Police, along with SEMLEC SWAT officers, arrived at the restaurant and entered, but found nobody there.
"The building was empty," State Police Media Communications Director Dave Procopio said in an email. " There were no signs of any recent entry into the building. The call appears to have been a hoax. Millbury PD will conduct a follow up investigation."
The call was traced to Ohio.
Wheelock Inn owner Steve Nevelski said police woke him with a knock at the door and told him about the call. He said he can't think of any connection to Ohio.
"I never seen anything like it," Nevelski said. "The PD did a great job, and everything that's happened on TV with all the shootings, they could not just let it go. They did their job right to the fullest and I think they did a great job."
WBZ NewsRadio's Chris Fama (@CFamaWBZ) interviews Wheelock Inn owner Steve Nevelski