A Tops Friendly Markets store in Western New York was evacuated Thursday night after a reported shooting threat.
The Buffalo News reports a man called the Niagara County 911 dispatch center around 7 p.m. and threatened to shoot people at the Tops supermarket on Meadow Drive in North Tonawanda, near Buffalo. The caller was using a voice disguiser and the phone number could not be immediately traced, North Tonawanda police said.
WIVB reports police cleared the building of shoppers and employees. Police said they found no credible threat.
In a Facebook post, North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec said there is no reason for alarm at this time.
“A potential ‘Swatting’ call to county dispatch raised concerns initially, leading to a police response as a precautionary measure. The NT Police Department is investigating the call and will be releasing more information,” Tylec said. “Thank you for your understanding, and thank you to our first responders.”
The threat comes 18 months after a racist mass shooting that left 10 Black people dead at a Tops in Buffalo. Payton Gendron, a white supremacist who was 18 years old at the time, is serving life in prison without parole for the attack that targeted Black people in the grocery store located in a predominantly Black neighborhood.