Hotel guests woken by ‘vulgar’ threats over emergency intercom
By Jon Schoenheider
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PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire (WMUR) — Guests at a downtown Portsmouth hotel were jolted awake early Saturday morning by vulgar language through an emergency intercom system.
Police say the incident happened around 4 a.m. at the Hampton Inn on Portwalk Place.
According to hotel staff, a person broke into a locked intercom panel in a separate part of the facility. They then delivered a vulgar message that was heard throughout the hotel and an attached apartment complex.
Staff says the individual accessed the building through a hallway kept unlocked for police and fire personnel. Then, they broke open the panel, which is usually locked. Police say they suspect the person was under the influence at the time.
One anonymous hotel guest was staying at the Hampton Inn for his birthday weekend. He didn’t know what was happening when the alert sounded.
“When I first heard it, I thought it was my cell phone going off, or Facebook, something like that,” he said.
After the initial alert, guests say they heard the message broadcast by the suspect.
“It was a male voice with very homophobic and threatening language,” said Ralph Basiliere, another guest at the hotel.
Some visitors, including the birthday guest, said they want more than an apology from the hotel, after spending hundreds of dollars on their stay.
“We’re debating whether to stay tonight or not, but they can refund me the whole thing,” the guest said. “I mean, this is just uncalled for.”
Hotel staff say the security of neither the hotel nor the apartment building was ever compromised during the incident, since access is locked. They add increased safety patrols will remain in the area for the foreseeable future.
Police say no arrests have been made and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
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