Man threatening to bomb Hollywood sign calls wrong police: report

(KTLA) – Ever mistakenly sent a text to the wrong person with the same name? Maybe you meant to coordinate brunch with Mark E., but accidentally extended the invitation to Mark L.?

That’s essentially what happened to a caller who reportedly attempted to phone in a bomb threat to police in Hollywood — the one in California — but mistakenly called the Hollywood Police Department in Florida.

On Sunday, dispatchers for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office fielded the call, after the suspect presumably looked up the wrong telephone number and dialed up the authorities in Hollywood, Florida.

The threat, according to law enforcement who spoke to TMZ, involved blowing up the Hollywood sign, located about 2,700 miles west of where the would-be criminal directed their phone call.

The caller demanded $10,000 to spare the iconic sign, TMZ reports.

KTLA spoke with both the Florida and California authorities, who said they were aware of the call. A report was eventually directed to the proper agency at the Los Angeles Police Department, and the call was determined to be a hoax and the threat nonexistent.

It’s understandable how someone might confuse the two Hollywoods. Both are in close proximity to the ocean, and in states that have both made claim to the sunshine crown. But the big giveaway should’ve been the fact that Hollywood, California, doesn’t have its own police department, whereas Hollywood, Florida, does.

In the future, any Bond-villains-in-training might want to take a moment to become familiar with some of America’s famous duplicates: There are the two Portlands (Oregon and Maine), Kansas Cities (Missouri and Kansas), Long Beaches (California and New Jersey) and major U.S. Disney properties (in Orange County, California, and Orange County, Florida).

Or, maybe just refrain from making criminal threats — whether you’re good or bad at geography.