NEW YORK (AP) — Police officials on Long Island on Wednesday rushed to publicly delete social media posts that falsely reported that explosives had been found in a car near former President Donald Trump’s planned rally in New York.

The false reports of an explosive device began circulating hours before the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign rally at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, just days after he was apparently the target of a second possible assassination attempt.

Nassau County Police Chief Patrick Ryder said police questioned and arrested a person who “may have been training an explosives detection dog” near the rally site and “falsely reported the discovery of explosives.”

Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a county police spokesman, said in follow-up messages that the person, whose identity police have not yet determined, is a civilian and not a member of a law enforcement agency.

He also said the person was not involved with or affiliated with the event. The event is expected to draw thousands of Trump supporters to the arena, formerly home to the NHL’s New York Islanders.

The rally is Trump’s first since 2017 on Long Island, a suburb east of New York City.

Skrynecki and other district officials had already reacted quickly on Wednesday and refuted the claims made via the online hotline, apparently starting with a reporter’s post citing unnamed sources in the local police.

“False,” Skrynecki wrote in a text message to AP as the claims spread on X, formerly Twitter.

“No. Ridiculous. Zero validity,” said Christopher Boyle, spokesman for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.