Police Draw Firearms On Centre Street Amid "False" 911 Call

Nantucket Police officers drew their firearms and closed a section on Centre Street Friday afternoon following a 911 call that ultimately turned out to be "false."

The incident began around 4:45 p.m., when police received a 911 call regarding a person who harmed his grandmother at a residence on Centre Street, according to public safety dispatches. Videos taken at the scene by witnesses showed Nantucket Police officers ducking behind their cruisers with firearms drawn at a residence.

But after attempting to gain entry, police reopened the road and left the area about 45 minutes later.

"We responded to a reported serious incident on Center Street," Nantucket Police Department Lt. Angus MacVicar told the Current. "It was determined after officers arrived that the call was false and the area and residence in question was safe. Officers cleared the area without incident."

No further details about the call were provided.

Witnesses said officers were seen knocking on doors along Centre Street and even asked to climb the First Congregational Church bell tower. 

One of those witnesses, First Congregational Church Rev. Scott Davis, shared his account of what happened.

“At around 4:30 my wife is finishing up work in the home office and across the street at 47 Centre we see, a little bit further up Main Street, we see a police cruiser, and a second and third one came," Rev. Davis said. "We saw one of the officers had his gun aimed up at 47 Centre. I thought it was a hostage situation or something like that. Somebody held up there. So it turns out, a nice officer I talked with him, and he said what it was was that someone 'called in that they shot someone at 47 Centre Street, so we responded to the call.’ It turns out they (the cops) were trying to get in the house, knocking on the front door, going around the back, no response, so I am guessing the house is empty. Then the person who called or someone else said ‘Yeah, we see you outside of the house'."

Davis said the police officers he spoke to believe the person who made the 911 call was using the First Congregational Church's web cam, which displays that portion of Centre Street, to watch the scene after making the false report. Officers asked Davis if there was a way to turn off the camera.

“What the officers believe is that somebody, because we have a camera in our tower, somebody went on or hacked it or whatever so they were asking ‘Gee, well can you turn it off?” Davis said.

If that scenario turns out to be true, it bears many similarities to the numerous bomb threats made against the Ralph Lauren store over the past year, including several high-profile incidents during the summer of 2025 when police blocked off a large swath of Main Street and ordered some businesses to close. In those cases, police believe the suspect was monitoring the Fisher Real Estate webcam pointed at lower Main Street and the Ralph Lauren store to monitor the area and the police response.

An incident report for one of the most recent bomb threats against the Ralph Lauren store notes the Nantucket Police Department's concern that the bomb threats may be linked to the Fisher Real Estate webcam.

"While awaiting the arrival of NFD personnel, Sgt. Rockett advised Ofc. Tirone and I that the 'Fisher Real Estate' camera located across from 16 Main St. at 21 Main St., had an active live feed and was capturing the building in question," Officer Moran wrote. "Due to security concerns with the live feed possibly being monitored, I requested that NPD Dispatch contact a representative of Fisher Real Estate to terminate the feed during our investigation. A representative granted us permission to access the building and terminate the feed manually if necessary."

As of Friday evening, the First Congregational Church's web cam had been taken offline.