So what happened was… kind of unbelievable. Siri on an Apple Watch called emergency services from a gym in Australia, prompting 15 armed police officers to show up expecting an active shooter.
What has to be the most unlikely set of circumstances for a false alarm happened in Australia on Tuesday.
News Corp Australia’s news.com.au outlet has the details of how it went down:
A Sydney personal trainer was left in utter shock after around 15 armed police officers turned up to his gym while he was teaching a client.
Muay Thai fighter and boxing trainer, Jamie Alleyne, 34, who works for PTJ Gladesville in the Lower North Shore, was wearing his Apple Watch (Series 7) when it activated Siri and accidentally called Emergency Services.
It was about 7.45am on Tuesday when Jamie said a police officer entered the gym while he was training his first client for the day.
Since the false alarm was an honest mistake, it wasn’t immediately clear what actually happened. The trainer describes what happened next:
“…the next minute about 15 officers including undercovers showed up, with several ambulances parked out the front, and that’s when I started bricking myself.
“All of them came in and I was like, ‘What is going on?’ One of them asked who Jamie Avery-or something was and I said, ‘I am Jamie Alleyne.’
“He told me I was the one who made the call which was impossible because I didn’t even have my phone on me.”
So what actually happened? It turns out the trainer’s Apple Watch was activating Siri repeatedly during a work. That happens to everyone, right?
What’s unique here is the trainer was shouting 1-1-2 while instructing the workout. That’s common enough for a gym chant anywhere. Like 911 in the Unites States, however, 112 happens to be a way of dialing emergency services in Australia.
Top comment by K
Good thing this didn’t happen in America. Would probably be a less happy ending.
Making matters worse, the fitness instructor was saying “good shot”‘ or “nice shot” while the Apple Watch was on the line with emergency services.
That caused first responders to believe an emergency involving gun shots, possibly a suicide, had occurred at the address of the gym.
Truly an unfortunate – but not tragic – series of events. Fortunately, no one was harmed during Siri’s false alarm. Examples of Apple Watch acting as a lifesaver are much more common:
- Apple Watch ‘saved my life,’ says mountain biker who called for rescue after paralyzing crash
- Teen says Apple Watch saved her life after heart rate alert led to uncovering kidney failure
- Apple Watch saved woman from sexual assault in her own apartment
Featured image via the trainer (via Apple Insider)
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