The Tops Friendly Markets location on Amherst Street in Buffalo saw a heavy police presence Wednesday morning, following a threatening phone call made to the store.
Buffalo Police told BTPM News that the call was determined to be a "swatting call," or a fake threat meant to scare and trigger an urgent police response.
No active threat was found.
Staff from the store reported the phone call to authorities around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday morning.
"Tops is fully cooperating with law enforcement after receiving a threatening phone call this morning at its store located at 345 Amherst St., Buffalo. We are working closely with the local authorities as they investigate the threat," a spokesperson from Tops said. "While such threats have sadly become more common within the retail industry, we take these situations very seriously. The safety of our customers and associates is always most important to us."
An estimated 20,000 swatting calls have occurred in the U.S. since the early 2000s, leading the FBI to actually establish a swatting call database in 2023 to track the troubling trend.
Swatting hoaxes typically target celebrities, schools, public officials and venues that attract large amounts of people.
Buffalo Police Threat Management Unit detectives are continuing their investigation into the incident, and who was behind the call.