Police investigating email that sparked active-shooter fears downtown
A business received an email about the purported gunfire at a FedEx storefront shortly before noon and warned other merchants.
Dante Ulanday - News Moderator 
An email reporting an active shooter on the attack in a retail mail and printing-services shop in downtown San Diego caused a brief scare late Friday morning.
The 11:50 a.m. report, which turned out to be unfounded, prompted a heavy influx of police in the busy commercial area around the 600 block of C Street.
A business received an email about the purported gunfire at a FedEx storefront shortly before noon and group-messaged other merchants to alert them to the possible threat, according to the San Diego Police Department.
“Officers responded and determined there was no active shooter and (that) there is no threat to the public,” the department posted on socialmedia.
Authorities who arrived on scene issued the all-clear within about 15 minutes, Officer David O’Brien said. Among the affected locations was San Diego Central Jail, which went into a brief lockdown.
Who sent the bogus shooting report – and whether it was simply a mistake or an intentional criminal threat – remained unclear.
“It is being investigated,” O’Brien said.
City News Service contributed to this report.
