LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne man was taken into custody for evaluation after he called authorities to report a shooting incident that didn't happen but which had resulted in a substantial response from firefighters and law enforcement.

The man, whose name authorities haven't released, was taken into custody by Lake County Sheriff's deputies on Monday night for a mental health evaluation, according to Lt. Norm Taylor.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Monday the man called authorities from the 7300 block of Bartlett Springs Road to report what originally was dispatched as a possible shooting of as many as six people, according to radio reports.

Within a short period of time, sheriff's deputies were en route, with mutual aid requested from the California Highway Patrol and the Lakeport Police Department, Taylor said.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen told Lake County News that he was called by his on-duty sergeant, who said he and another officer were planning to respond.

Rasmussen said he gave the OK, explaining they wanted to help in any way they could.

Along with law enforcement, several fire units from Northshore Fire, Lakeport Fire and Cal Fire – coming from Howard Forest – also responded to the call, staging at Highway 20 and Bartlett Springs Road before deputies had them move farther up the hill, according to scanner reports.

Just over 40 minutes after the call came in, sheriff's deputies got up to the scene and determined that it was not as reported.

“There were shots fired but there was no evidence that there was anyone he was shooting at,” said Taylor.

Taylor said the man had told authorities that he thought “assassins” were coming for him, and he appeared delusional.

As a result, he was taken into custody for the evaluation, Taylor said.

Taylor on Tuesday was not sure if the sheriff's office has had calls from the man previously.

As for such calls reporting serious incidents that prove to have not occurred, “I wouldn't say it's rare but it certainly doesn't happen every day,” said Taylor.

He added, “We do have our fair share of calls that are completely unfounded and based off of people's diminishing mental capacities.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.