Viral video of people in Halloween masks threatening a home was a family prank, police say

Main Idea: Alexandria police said a viral Halloween mask threat at a Virginia home was a family prank that wasted more than 100 hours of police work and could have led to violence.

Key Points:

• A 911 caller said masked people were making threats at a home in Alexandria, Virginia.
• Police later said the people in the masks were boys ages 14 to 16 linked to the victim’s own family.
• The victim’s brother arrived with a gun, and police said the prank could have ended in deadly harm.
• The Alexandria Police Department said its investigators spent more than 100 hours on the case, and the victim asked prosecutors not to charge her relatives.