A. Any person who without just cause therefor calls or summons, by telephone or otherwise, any emergency medical services vehicle or firefighting apparatus, or any person who maliciously activates a manual or automatic fire alarm in any building used for public assembly or for other public use, including, but not limited to, schools, theaters, stores, office buildings, shopping centers and malls, coliseums, and arenas, regardless of whether an emergency medical services vehicle or fire apparatus responds or not, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. A violation of this section may be prosecuted either in the jurisdiction from which the call or summons was made or in the jurisdiction where the call or summons was received.

History

Code 1950, § 18.1-412; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1976, c. 75; 1982, c. 502; 2015, cc. 502, 503.