A TikTok video, a reservation phone call and a giant misunderstanding led to Riverside police descending on the iconic Mission Inn on Sunday, June 30, to hunt for a gunman.
But there was no shooter, just an odd confluence of events at the landmark hotel, said Officer Ryan Railsback, a Police Department spokesman.
He explained that on June 27, someone posted a video on TikTok from a different hotel saying that there was an active shooter at the Mission Inn, but the poster gave the date as June 28, Railsback said. That video made the rounds on social media, Railsback said.
Then Sunday around 8 a.m., a caller making a reservation mentioned something about an active shooter. That prompted the front desk to notify employees about the possible threat, Railsback said.
“The next thing you know, we get a call that there’s an active shooter at the Mission Inn,” Railsback said.
The hotel offers 238 rooms and begins serving breakfast at 7 a.m. on Sundays, and the police response generated a panicked buzz on social media.
But there was no shooter and no danger, Railsback said.
