Daly City, California – The Daly City Police Department was deluged with calls Friday night from frightened local residents who reported seeing Aswang in their neighborhood. Twitter almost crashed, as did Verizon wireless, due to thousands taking to social media and smart phone texting to warn their friends and relatives about the sighting.

Aswang is a  mythical character  described as an evil creature that preys on fetuses. According to Philippine folklore, the Aswang lives like any other normal human being during the day but transforms into a wicked being at night in its constant search for pregnant women.

Daly City is home to a diverse population of about 100,000 people, a third of whom are Filipino.

After investigating the reports and tracing the origins of the viral tweets and text messages, the Police Department confirmed the sighting.  The Aswang was seen between 9 and 10 pm Friday on NBC’s episode of ‘Grimm,” courtesy of  Lt. Wu, played by Filipino American actor Reggie Lee.