Police approach Casual Cuts with battering ram in hand Friday as police respond to a call of a person shot at the business on Dayton Blvd. After investigating, police said no activity occurred in the building.Police were told a man had shot and killed his girlfriend, and was holed up in Casual Cuts salon on Dayton Boulevard on Friday afternoon.
But Red Bank Police Chief Tim Christol said no shooting took place and there was no gunman in the building.
When police first got the call, it evacuated the surrounding buildings and set up a perimeter, blocking traffic on Dayton Boulevard. A police officer with a door battering ram was seen walking to the store, which is no longer in business.
But after entering the building, Christol said nobody was found in the building. An employee at a neighboring barber shop said he didn’t hear any gun shots, either.
Police are now investigating whether this incident really happened and if the caller mistakingly told them the wrong place. Christol said he doesn’t know why the person called police in the first place, but said calls to police like this are more frequent.
“This is one of the things going around the country right now,” he said. “People are calling in false SWAT calls, or SWAT-ers. They’re calling in these calls just to watch the police respond and see how the tactical team responds.”
Police are still investigating the incident.