A Fall River 911 call said a man had killed his parents and had children hostage. It turned out to be a hoax.

A man called the Fall River Police Department claiming to have killed his parents and to be holding two children hostage on Saturday evening in an incident that turned out to be a hoax, the department said.

During the phone call made around 6:30 p.m., the man also threatened to harm the children if anyone attempted to enter his home on Stafford Road, police wrote in a press release. He also threatened to kill responding officers, the department said. 

Officers arrived at the home and established a perimeter around it, also dispatching the department’s Emergency Services Unit, police said.

“After a thorough response and investigation, officers determined that the call was a hoax and that no such incident had occurred,” the department wrote in the release.

Stafford Road was cleared and reopened around 7 p.m., police wrote.

“Hoax emergency calls of this nature are not harmless pranks. They place residents and responding officers at unnecessary risk and divert significant police personnel and resources away from legitimate emergencies occurring throughout our city,” the department said.

Police are still investigating the incident, including trying to determine who made the call, the department said.

The caller will be held accountable for the crime of making a false report and for the cost associated with responding to the call, police said.