False Alarm or Report

Any person who decides to communicate an alarm to a past, present, or future bombing, fire, any offense, or other kind of emergency that he or she is completely informed is false may be charged with a false alarm or false report, especially if the reporting:

• Involves officials or volunteers to deal with the situation as an emergency
• Potentially causes a person or people to become fearful of imminent danger or serious injury to the body
• Prevents or intervenes with normal occupancy or activities of a building, room, place of assembly or area accessible to the public, or aircraft, vehicle, or other form of transportation

For example, you can be charged for a false alarm/report if you:

• Called to report of a bomb that was, is, or will be on school grounds and be of danger to the staff and students of the school if you are aware that there was/is no apparent danger of a bomb.
• Pulled a fire alarm, causing immediate relocation and removal of the occupants within a building while knowing that there is no danger of any kind to the occupants within the building.
• Yelled “fire” or “bomb” in a building while fully aware that there is no apparent danger of a fire or bomb.

Most offenses under this category will leave the actor with a Class A misdemeanor charge.

Contact Us

If you or someone you know has been accused of making a false alarm or a false report, contact Austin criminal defense attorney Ian Inglis at 512-472-1950 to discuss your legal options and rights.