MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A report of four people being shot at the South Florida home of rapper Lil Wayne was false, police said.
Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said someone called the non-emergency number about 12:40 p.m. Wednesday to say that four people were shot inside the waterfront home on La Gorce Island.
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Shortly after the SWAT team entered the waterfront home at 94 La Gorce Circle, Rodriguez returned and told the media gathered on the island that the report was unfounded.
"We can say for sure it was a hoax," Rodriguez said.
The Miami Beach Police Department's Twitter account called the phony report a "swatting" call, which is the act of tricking emergency personnel in responding to a false report of a critical incident.
Local 10 News reporter Glenna Milberg said there was only one emergency vehicle at the scene.
Police established a perimeter in the neighborhood, but Milberg said officers didn't look very worried.
TMZ reported that police were also called to the home last month on a report of a suspicious man lurking outside. Police let the man go because he was not on private property when they arrived.
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Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was scheduled to perform Thursday night at Nova Southeastern University's Shark Bash homecoming event.
Wayne's record label, Young Money Entertainment, said on Twitter that Wayne wasn't home at the time. His official Facebook page posted the same thing a short time later.
Mack Maine, president of Wayne's record company, said on Twitter: "Everybody good on our side ... thanks for the concern."
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Local 10 News reporter Hatzel Vela said he spoke to a construction worker who said he heard what sounded like a gunshot shortly before police arrived.
The rapper's representative, Chris Chambers, said in a statement that "Wayne was in the recording studio at the time working on music."
Wayne was later seen driving away in his Bugati after checking on his home.
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