HARTFORD, CT — A call claiming a tranquilized silverback gorilla was in cardiac arrest and en route to Hartford Hospital in a 1989 blue van triggered a full-scale emergency dispatch on May 16, according to Hartford police.
The call was made directly to the hospital late that evening. Staff at the facility reported the information to city dispatchers, who relayed it to field units and emergency management.
The van was described as having Florida license plates and carrying one human and one gorilla, according to archived radio transmissions reviewed by NBC Connecticut.
Police and hospital security were alerted, but the vehicle never arrived.
No gorilla was recovered, and no corresponding transport was ever documented, according to the Department of Emergency Services and Telecommunications.
The Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, the only Connecticut facility with large primates, confirmed all animals were accounted for and no gorillas were missing.
Jeffrey T. Covello, director of emergency services, said dispatchers “treated it as an authentic call” despite the absurdity. The recorded transmission, now circulating on TikTok and Reddit, includes the dispatcher noting the report and briefly laughing.
Police later confirmed the incident was a hoax.
No suspect has been identified. The call is under investigation, and as of May 31, no arrests had been made. Making false emergency reports in Connecticut can trigger charges under C.G.S. § 53a-180, which classifies misuse of the 911 system as a misdemeanor or felony depending on scope and intent.
Hartford authorities have issued no further comment on the source of the hoax or whether charges will be filed.
