For five hours Sunday night and into Monday morning, a deactivated wireless device in the city of Erie called Erie County 911 every seven seconds — approximately 750 times — from 8:55 p.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday, crippling dispatchers' ability to field emergency calls and maxing out the backup system.
"What we suspect happened here is a cyberattack," Erie County Department of Public Safety Director John Grappy said.
"Was it accidental? Was it intentional? Was it malicious? That has yet to be determined."