Los Angeles police responded Tuesday night to a report of a gunshot at the home of embattled 7th Heaven star Stephen Collins, but the actor wasn't home and no one was hurt. As of late Tuesday, there was no evidence of any gunshot, police said.
Collins, who is in the midst of a media firestorm over allegations of child molestation, is alive, police said.
Officers went to the Tarzana residence early in the evening, contained the area and went into the house. Nobody was in the residence, police said.
A tweet from former Baywatch actress Donna D'Errico, who lives near Collins, sparked rumors that the actor had committed suicide when she sent a tweet saying, "That guy from 7th Heaven lives right around the corner from me & just shot himself a few minutes ago." She later deleted the tweet.
Reporters scrambled to verify the report and several conflicting stories surfaced on the rumor mill that is Twitter.
"LAPD source did not have knowledge of Stephen Collins' condition, but confirmed actor shot himself earlier tonight," former Reuters social media editor Matthew Keys tweeted.
On the other hand, Ryan Parker of the L.A. Times tweeted, "NOW: LAPD say they entered the home of embattled actor Stephen Collins after a gunshot was reported, but there is no one home"
When it became clear that the reports of Collins committing suicide were not true, D'Errico issued a Twitter apology.
Collins, 67, who is best known as the sweet minister dad on the family drama 7th Heaven, discussed three instances of child molestation in an audio tape obtained by TMZ. The tape was recorded as part of a nasty divorce Collins has been going through with actress Faye Grant.
According to Buzzfeed's Jon Passantino, a local ABC news crew reported the noise.
"Lt. Davis says ABC7 news crew in front of Collins' home thought they heard loud noise coming from residence. Officers responded, found nada," Passantino tweeted. However, ABC7 News tweeted they weren't in front of the residence at the time, and didn't report the shots.
