Stephen Collins 'alive and well' after report of gunshot heard at his home, police say

Los Angeles police rushed to Stephen Collins' home Tuesday night following an erroneous report of a gunshot and rumors of a suicide attempt. But police found the residence in suburban Tarzana empty and later said Collins was "alive and well."

Earlier that day, a 2012 audio recording had been released in which Collins, 67, said he had molested and exposed himself to underage girls decades ago.

In a since-deleted tweet, a former Reuters social-media editor, Matthew Keys, had claimed an "LAPD source . . . confirmed actor shot himself earlier tonight." A neighbor, former Playboy Playmate and "Baywatch" actress Donna D'Errico also said, in a now-deleted tweet, "That guy from '7th Heaven' lives right around the corner from me & just shot himself a few minutes ago." She reversed herself later, writing, "I just tweeted out what I was being told by my neighbor[s] who were on scene. I apologize for tweeting what I'd heard before confirming it."

Collins' lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, blamed the actor's estranged wife, actress Faye Grant, for leaking the audio she had recorded during a joint therapy session in 2012.

"Faye has repeatedly threatened to give this audiotape to the media unless Stephen agreed to pay her millions of dollars more than that to which she was legally entitled" in a pending divorce, Kaplan told TMZ.com. "When these demands were rebuffed, Faye attempted -- without success -- to peddle the tape in numerous ways to numerous different people." He added, "Though we would like to address the tape itself, the circumstances dictate that we must regrettably refrain from doing so at this time."

Collins' former "7th Heaven" co-star, Catherine Hicks, told TMZ she has "really nothing to say, nothing to hide. I don't know anything. Stephen's a good guy, in my opinion."

Meanwhile, an ABC representative told Variety Wednesday that Collins, who had played news anchor Reed Wallace in a 2012 episode of "Scandal," would not reprise the role. Collins had tweeted on Sept. 23 that he had just filmed an episode.

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