Reports of youths fighting and an explosion in the Wellington suburb of Strathmore went unsubstantiated last night, police say.
Police received the reports just after midnight, central communications shift inspector Dave Rose said.
"They sent a number of cars out from the city to investigate and there was certainly no evidence of an explosion if there had been one and as I understand they didn't find any youths either.
"Whether there had been something going on there and then they dispersed by the time we got there [I don't know].
"There were no arrests made as a result and we didn't identify what the explosion was."
The reports prompted a flurry of activity on social media.
"Massive explosion sound just now in Strathmore. Freaky as," Lisa Gibson wrote on Twitter.
"Explosion out in South Wellington (Strathmore)? People out on streets," Kate Harris wrote.
"Our house shook, sounded so close. Cops screaming down Broadway but haven't come up the hill," Julia King tweeted.