A letter warning of gang initiations on stationery that appears as official Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency is a hoax.

The letter was sent out to e-mails and cell phones over the area, said Walter Hill, director of the Lowndes EMA.

“Someone got that letterhead and forwarded it out,” Hill said in a telephone interview Saturday. “We had advised everyone that it is a hoax.”

Hill said he alerted the Department of Homeland Security of the incident. “DHS is looking into it,” he said.

The hoax letter is dated Feb. 9 and has a time of 10:45 p.m. at the bottom. It is labeled “Public Alert Advisory Notification.”

The letter says the second week in February is “National Gang Initiation Week.”

Hill said Saturday he’s asking everyone to disregard the letter as a hoax. “We’re asking all media to put out that word.”