The caller said he was barricaded inside a Cohasset jewelry store with two hostages, a pistol and a rifle, and he wanted money. As police from five agencies closed Route 3A and surrounded the building Sunday evening, he described the officers’ movements to dispatchers in real time. There were no hostages. Police now say the whole thing was a hoax, and that the caller appears to have been watching through the store’s own security cameras.
Cohasset police are trying to identify him. Here is what police have said, and the Massachusetts laws that make a fake emergency call like this one a crime that can carry state prison time.
What police say happened
- At about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, October 11, a man called the regional dispatch center claiming he was holding two hostages at gunpoint inside King Jewelers on Route 3A near Brewster Road, according to Cohasset police as reported by WCVB and NBC10 Boston.
- “The caller stated he was armed with both a pistol and a rifle and demanded money in exchange for the hostages’ safe release,” police said, according to WCVB.
- While on the line, he described where arriving officers were and gave details about the inside of the store, “including places only staff have access to,” NBC10 reported, which made the call seem credible.
- Officers from Cohasset, Scituate, Norwell, Hingham and Hull responded, and Route 3A was closed, NBC10 reported. Police reached the owner, who confirmed she, her family and her employees were safe. Officers swept the building and found no one held hostage.
- Investigators believe the caller had gotten into the business’s video surveillance system, NBC10 and WCVB reported. Police are investigating both who made the call and how the cameras were accessed.
“In this case, the caller went to extraordinary lengths to make the threat appear legitimate,” Chief William Quigley said. “We take this very seriously, and our detectives will work to identify the person responsible and pursue appropriate criminal charges.” No one was hurt. No one has been charged.
The Massachusetts swatting law: G.L. c. 269, § 14B
Massachusetts has a statute aimed squarely at fake emergency calls. Section 14B of chapter 269 punishes anyone who “willfully and maliciously communicates with a PSAP,” meaning a 911 or dispatch center, with information “which the person knows or has reason to know is false and which results in the dispatch of emergency services to a nonexistent emergency.”
- First offense: up to 2½ years in the house of correction or a fine of up to $1,000.
- Second or later offense: up to 10 years in state prison or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
- Restitution: after a conviction, the court must hold a hearing on the costs, damages and losses of every responding agency and order the defendant to repay them, subject to the defendant’s ability to pay.
In a response with tactical officers from five departments, that bill could be significant.
The bigger charge: threatening to use a gun at a location
A hostage call that claims a gunman is inside a building can also fall under the state’s threat statute, G.L. c. 269, § 14. It covers anyone who “willfully communicates,” including “by use of a telephone,” a threat that a firearm or other deadly item “will be used at a place or location, or is present or will be present at a place or location, whether or not the same is in fact used or present.”
- Penalty under § 14(b): up to 20 years in state prison, or up to 2½ years in the house of correction, or a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
- If the threat causes “serious disruption”: under § 14(c), when the threat causes the evacuation or “serious disruption” of a building or place of assembly, or “serious public inconvenience or alarm,” the ranges go up: 3 to 20 years in state prison, or 6 months to 2½ years in the house of correction, or a fine of $1,000 to $50,000, or both.
- Restitution is mandatory under § 14(d), as well.
Whether prosecutors would charge either statute, and whether a closed state highway and a five-town tactical response would count as “serious disruption,” would be for a court to decide if someone is identified and charged.
The camera hack
If the caller did get into the store’s surveillance system without permission, that could be a separate crime. Under G.L. c. 266, § 120F, anyone who “without authorization, knowingly accesses a computer system by any means” faces up to 30 days in the house of correction, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The statute adds that “the requirement of a password or other authentication to gain access shall constitute notice that access is limited to authorized users.” Federal computer-crime law can also apply.
Frequently asked questions
What happened at the Cohasset jewelry store?
On October 11, 2026, a caller falsely claimed he was holding two hostages at gunpoint inside King Jewelers on Route 3A. Police from five towns responded and found no hostages. Police called it an elaborate hoax and believe the caller had accessed the store’s surveillance cameras.
Is swatting a crime in Massachusetts?
Yes. G.L. c. 269, section 14B punishes willfully and maliciously making a false report to a 911 or dispatch center that results in emergency services being sent to a nonexistent emergency, with up to 2.5 years for a first offense and up to 10 years for a repeat offense, plus mandatory restitution.
Can a fake hostage call bring a longer sentence?
Potentially. A threat that a firearm is present or will be used at a location is punishable under G.L. c. 269, section 14 by up to 20 years in state prison, with higher minimum ranges if the threat causes serious disruption or public alarm.
Has anyone been charged in the Cohasset hoax?
Not as of October 12, 2026. Cohasset police said they are working to identify the caller.
Sources: WCVB and NBC10 Boston, October 12, 2026, reporting statements from Cohasset police and Chief William Quigley; MassLive and Boston.com headline coverage. G.L. c. 269, sections 14 and 14B, and G.L. c. 266, section 120F, read at malegislature.gov. No one has been charged. General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.