Statement from Roanoke City Police : Roanoke Police received a 911 call of an active shooter at the Hotel Roanoke early this morning. Additional officers were on duty Downtown due to the planned Drumstick Dash and immediately responded to the hotel. The hotel was thoroughly searched; officers did not locate any evidence of a shooting or anyone injured. It appears that this was a false call and there was no danger to hotel occupants or anyone in the Downtown area. The Roanoke Police Department takes these types of calls very seriously and investigates them to the fullest extent. We will continue to investigate this incident and place charges as appropriate for making a false 911 call. The Drumstick Dash was delayed while officers made sure the area was safe, but now will continue as planned.
Statement from Hotel Roanoke: Roanoke City Police responded to a call about an active shooter on November 23 at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. Law enforcement determined this is a hoax and Hotel Roanoke Management has been informed by Hilton Worldwide that similar calls were perpetrated on other hotels in the past week. The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center would like to thank the Virginia State Police, Roanoke City Police, Roanoke Fire & EMS for their quick response.
Previous: Hotel Roanoke was reportedly locked down for a time this morning. We have not received confirmation from Roanoke Police about what led to that lockdown and heavy police presence at the hotel. We will provide more information when it becomes available.
