The man fell victim to the "swatting" practice yesterday.
The Otago Daily Times has decided not to name the man.
"Swatting" is a word that describes creating a false emergency to get an Armed Offenders Squad — or Swat team in the United States — sent to the person’s home.
The practice is common in the United States, but yesterday came as a complete surprise to the man and his family.
An email was sent to a group of Gore residents on Wednesday night, claiming to be from a young Gore man who, according to the email, planned to commit one of the "most prolific attacks" on schools in the area the following day.
"I will be armed with multiple firearms that I have built myself, including assault rifles and hand guns," the email read.
The message also declared the man had a "manifesto" that had been mailed to all news media outlets.
The email gave his full name, phone number and an address in East Gore.
In a statement yesterday morning, the police said after extensive inquiries, they were confident the email was a hoax and the man implicated in the email was not involved.
They were out in the community reassuring schools their pupils and staff were safe, they said.
The father of the man accused said his son, when he was younger, had attracted the ire of a fellow videogamer online, who said he was going to "ring the cops" and "swat" the Southlander in revenge.
It is an online practice similar to "doxing", where the victim’s personal information, such as phone number or address, is exposed on the internet.
The man said the harrassment had happened before, with much more serious consequences.
"It was a bit of a pain last time," he said.
The Armed Offenders Squad set up at the end of the man’s street in January 2021 after an alleged firearms incident.
On that occasion, businesses in Gore went into a brief lockdown and roads were cordoned off until police were sure there was no real threat.
The concerned father said his family had not lived at the address for 10 years and his son, now 22, declined to comment.
Police have not charged anyone in relation to the hoax, but inquiries into the origin of the email are ongoing.
