All articles tagged with #911 calls
DeKalb County has issued an alert due to a 60% increase in flu-related 911 calls amid a severe flu season in Georgia, with health officials urging vaccination and precautions to prevent serious illness, especially among vulnerable populations.
The article discusses the release of 911 call recordings from the Texas floods in July 2025, highlighting the urgent and sometimes desperate calls from residents affected by the flooding, which resulted in over 130 deaths. The calls reveal challenges in emergency response and the severity of the flooding in Central Texas.
Colorado law enforcement agencies, including the Denver Police Department, plan to use drones as first responders to 911 calls, aiming to save resources and prioritize urgent calls. While proponents see it as the future of policing, the ACLU raises concerns about potential impacts on civil liberties and First Amendment activities. The DPD is expanding its drone program with a $100,000 grant and aims to create a public dashboard to track drone flights.
New 911 calls and a lengthy police report shed light on the night 16-year-old Preston Lord was attacked at a Halloween party in Queen Creek, Arizona, leading to his death two days later. Seven suspects have been arrested in connection to Lord's death, with evidence including chilling 911 calls, witness interviews, and confessions from some of the suspects. The police report details a fight over a gold chain that led to the deadly attack, and messages and Snapchats sent by the suspects played a significant role in their arrests. All seven suspects have pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery.
Visitors to a Mesa park in Arizona have been calling 911 to report alligators in the water, but city officials have clarified that the three alligators at Riverview Park are actually made of foam and are not real. The faux alligators were installed to provide more places for birds and turtles to sun themselves, but some visitors have found them so convincing that they've called 911 to report them. Park officials plan to add foam hippos next.
CBS 6 obtained the audio of the 911 calls made on the night of Kaylin Gillis' murder in Washington County, including calls made by Kevin Monahan, who was found guilty of 2nd degree murder, reckless endangerment, and tampering with physical evidence in connection with Gillis' death after she and her friends mistakenly pulled into the wrong driveway.
Panicked students and staff at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas made desperate 911 calls during Wednesday's mass shooting, with some reporting being trapped in rooms. Three professors were killed in the attack, and a fourth is in critical condition. The gunman, a former college professor, had been denied jobs at various Nevada colleges and universities and appeared to be struggling financially. He was carrying a list of people he planned to target, but none of the victims were named on the list. The university has canceled final exams and will not reopen until after the holidays.
Google's personal safety features in Android now include a feature that can send critical medical data to first responders during a 911 call. The technology relays information entered in the Personal Safety app, such as age, weight, blood type, and allergies, to a platform called RapidSOS. Over 15,000 911 and field responder agencies are connected to RapidSOS, which has been supporting medical data relay from iPhones since 2020. This feature is currently available on select devices, including recent Google Pixel devices, Nothing Phone 1, and others, and can provide crucial information to responders before they arrive at the scene.
Google has made a change to the Emergency SOS feature on Android phones to prevent accidental 911 calls. Previously, five consecutive taps of the power button would automatically initiate a 911 call, causing issues for first responders. The new default setting requires users to touch and hold their finger on the screen for three seconds to confirm the call, reducing the likelihood of pocket dials. Users can still revert to the previous behavior if desired. The change went live in June and is available to all users. Samsung devices use a swipe gesture instead of touch and hold.
Audio recordings of 911 calls from the deadly August wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, have been released, revealing the terrifying and chaotic scene as residents desperately tried to escape the flames. The calls depict overwhelmed dispatchers apologizing to callers and offering reassurance, while some callers reported being trapped and unable to evacuate due to blocked roads and gridlocked traffic. The wildfire, fueled by powerful winds from a passing hurricane, killed at least 98 people and destroyed over 2,000 structures, devastating the historic town of Lahaina. The cause of the fire has been attributed to power lines owned by Hawaiian Electric, and lawsuits have been filed against the utility company.
A judge in Clay County has ruled that there is enough evidence for Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old man, to stand trial for the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a teenager. Lester is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. During the preliminary hearing, six witnesses testified, including neighbors who heard gunshots and called 911. Attorneys presented the 911 call made by Lester, where he admitted to shooting Yarl, claiming he thought Yarl was trying to break into his home. The hearing also revealed an inconsistency in Yarl's statement regarding whether he rang the doorbell or touched Lester's door. The case had been partially sealed due to harassment and threats faced by Lester.
Frantic 911 calls were made when Carlee Russell, a nursing student, reported finding a toddler wandering on a busy highway, only to go missing herself. Police responded to the scene and discovered Russell's car abandoned with its hazards on, but she was nowhere to be found. Her personal belongings, including her phone, were left behind. Police conducted searches, deployed a drone, and issued a statewide lookout bulletin for a possible abduction. Russell eventually returned home after two days, but the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unclear. The family claims she was lured out of the car by human traffickers, but experts say this is not a common tactic used by traffickers.
Two 911 calls have been released by the Clermont County Prosecutor's Office following the shooting deaths of three young brothers on Thursday. Chad Doerman, the father of the boys, is accused of executing them with a rifle and has been charged with three counts of aggravated murder. The calls reported a young woman running from the home, saying her stepfather was killing everyone in the family, and another caller reporting seeing two children down in a yard across the street from an automotive repair business.
911 centers in Michigan are experiencing a rise in accidental calls, including open lines and children playing with phones. The Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority has seen a 24% increase in accidental calls this week compared to last year. To address the issue, the dispatch authority is surveying anyone who made an accidental 911 call since May 1 to find a common denominator and work with technology developers to rectify the issue. Dispatchers urge those who mistakenly dial 911 to stay on the line and explain what happened to avoid wasting resources and time.
Recent cases of police shooting or killing individuals who called 911 for help have raised questions about police hiring, training, policy, and accountability. Policing fatality data is poor, but a Washington Post database suggests police have fatally shot over 8,500 people since 2015, with Black Americans shot at a disproportionate rate. In each case, officers arrived on the scene and acted too quickly, highlighting the need for de-escalation techniques and better information gathering. Efforts are now focusing on training dispatchers and equipping officers to respond to mental health emergencies.