Hamilton Police receives 30+ calls regarding social media post that appears to be hoax

By

Published November 3, 2020 at 4:42 pm

Hamilton Police say a post that is circulating widely on social media has prompted quite a few residents to call them but they assure Hamiltonians there have been no reports of such incidents.

In a Tweet sent Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 3), Hamiton Police said they received more than 30 calls from people concerned about a post claiming that a person is travelling door-to-door and claiming to be selling chocolate and then pepper-spraying the alleged victim and while they’re incapacitated, stealing things from their home.

“HPS has NOT received any calls from victims,” their Tweet says.

In the Tweet, they also share a video message from Peel Regional Police Constable Akhil Mooken, who provides further information on this seemingly viral post that has frightened residents across Ontario.

“Out investigators have looked into this and there is no validity,” Mooken said. “At this time, we have not received any reports of anyone being pepper-sprayed by a door-to-door salesperson.”

Police are urging people to stop sharing this social media post because they say there is no validity to its claim.

Police are urging members of the public to not share the post if they come across it.

“We do not want to alarm the community especially when there is no validity to these claims being made,” Mookin said.

 

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising