Nova Tower Threat 'Unfounded' After Auto-Corrected Text Message Causes 'Misunderstanding'

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A heavy police presence on the city's North Side made for some tense moments near South Commons during the Friday lunch hour.

And it was all because of a misunderstanding. Police officials said an auto-corrected text message made reference to a "firearm," when it was intended to say "fire alarm."

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NewsChopper 2 images showed numerous police vehicles around the scene at 100 South Commons at about 12:30 p.m.

Witnesses, including workers from the Nova Tower Two building, told KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller they were heading out for lunch in the area when some said they saw officers running toward them with guns drawn, and police canines at their sides.

"Definitely wasn't anticipating this turn of events to happen today. It was pretty casual, and then it turned into a pretty intense situation very quickly," one man said.

That man and a friend told Schiller they were using their cellphones to talk to their co-workers who were still inside the building. No injuries were reported.

WATCH: Update from Pittsburgh Police Assistant PIO --

Another woman told Schiller that as she went outside to smoke, officers told her she had to leave the area and cross the street. She told Schiller she didn't know what to do after that.

KDKA-TV's Andy Sheehan reported just after 1 p.m. that Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus had called his team back, saying any threat to public safety was "unfounded."

"The person ... meant to say fire alarm but it came out as a firearm. And then that person didn't respond to their phone, and so the person who got the text called police because they thought there was immediate danger," said Maurice Matthews, a PIO with Pittsburgh police.

(Photo Credit: NewsChopper 2/KDKA)

It took about two hours for the police to investigate and clear the scene.

In:
• North Side