Police today appealed to the public not to share online hoaxes to avoid the spread of fear and alarm.

A spokesman said “unfounded rumours and misinformation” created “discomfort and cause alarm in our community”.

He was speaking after police were alerted to a voice note and image that suggested police were “engaged in a firearms incident involving a soldier at the Royal Bermuda Regiment, Warwick Camp headquarters”.

The spokesman added: “We wish to make it clear there is no truth to these claims.”