An Apple employee rings 911 by accident… 1,600 times

Two 911 call centers in California have confessed to getting hundreds of calls from a single location. The caller? Apple — specifically a repair center in Elk Grove.

No one seems to know exactly how or why these calls were made — Apple told Buzzfeed it was aware of the calls and was looking into it. The popular theory seems to be that, because iPhones and Apple watches ring 911 when you hold one button down, employees are calling by accident. Jaded by mystery novels as I am, I find it hard to believe Apple employees can make that many butt-dials that consistently from a single location. Personally, I suspect they’re communicating in code.

Employees don’t seem to be aware when they make the calls — dispatchers told CBS Local they hear people talking about work, when they hear anything at all. If it is butt-dials, then someone at that Apple facility is keeping far too many devices in a back pocket. Either that, or one of Apple’s employees is running the world’s longest, most annoying prank.

911 centers say they’ve received as many as 20 calls a day from the Apple location, beginning in October. In total, Apple has called them over 1,600 times and waylaid who knows how many minutes of lifesaving attention. A spokesperson from the local police department assured everyone they were working with Apple to make sure the mystery was solved. “911 is a lifeline for everyone in our community, so having these lines open and available is paramount and so getting this problem resolved.”