Anti Federalist
10-23-2014, 03:06 PM
Prank call leads to armed police outside Dennis home
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20141023/NEWS11/141029872
DENNIS-- A prank 911 call reporting an active shooter at a Main Street home drew a massive police response and closed a portion of Route 28 for nearly an hour Wednesday night.
Just after 10 p.m., local and state police responded to 545 Main St. after receiving a call from an untraceable Skype phone that a teenager inside had a gun to his mother's head and another two minutes later reporting he shot his mother, according to Sgt. John Emerson.
On scene, local and state police surrounded the white house with semi-automatic weapons drawn and aimed at the entrance. They were calling into the house for the suspect who they believed was also armed.
A perimeter was set up around the property, closing off a portion of Main Street and an ambulance and firetruck sat waiting in the parking lot at the nearby Hess Gas Station.
Police eventually made contact with the alleged victim, Penelope Pina, and her 17-year-old son and learned that the report was false, police said.
“It's not funny, but apparently it's something that gamers occasionally do,” Emerson said on the scene Wednesday night.
When they made entrance into the home, the young man was still playing the video game.
There was no weapon in the house, and the scene was quickly cleared.
The hoax, known as “swatting,” is when someone calls in an emergency situation that generates massive police or SWAT team response.
It is a trend among combat-themed video gamers seeking retaliation against their virtual opponent.
Dennis officers were assisted by Harwich Police, Massachusetts State Police, and the Dennis Fire Department.
Similar swatting hoaxes have taken place around the country over the past year.
In August, a SWAT team burst into an office in Littleton, Colorado, after a call reported that someone had shot two people and was holding several others hostage. That report also turned out to be false, but forced a nearby school to enact security procedures and businesses were evacuated. The SWAT response was captured in the video game and shown on national news broadcasts.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20141023/NEWS11/141029872
DENNIS-- A prank 911 call reporting an active shooter at a Main Street home drew a massive police response and closed a portion of Route 28 for nearly an hour Wednesday night.
Just after 10 p.m., local and state police responded to 545 Main St. after receiving a call from an untraceable Skype phone that a teenager inside had a gun to his mother's head and another two minutes later reporting he shot his mother, according to Sgt. John Emerson.
On scene, local and state police surrounded the white house with semi-automatic weapons drawn and aimed at the entrance. They were calling into the house for the suspect who they believed was also armed.
A perimeter was set up around the property, closing off a portion of Main Street and an ambulance and firetruck sat waiting in the parking lot at the nearby Hess Gas Station.
Police eventually made contact with the alleged victim, Penelope Pina, and her 17-year-old son and learned that the report was false, police said.
“It's not funny, but apparently it's something that gamers occasionally do,” Emerson said on the scene Wednesday night.
When they made entrance into the home, the young man was still playing the video game.
There was no weapon in the house, and the scene was quickly cleared.
The hoax, known as “swatting,” is when someone calls in an emergency situation that generates massive police or SWAT team response.
It is a trend among combat-themed video gamers seeking retaliation against their virtual opponent.
Dennis officers were assisted by Harwich Police, Massachusetts State Police, and the Dennis Fire Department.
Similar swatting hoaxes have taken place around the country over the past year.
In August, a SWAT team burst into an office in Littleton, Colorado, after a call reported that someone had shot two people and was holding several others hostage. That report also turned out to be false, but forced a nearby school to enact security procedures and businesses were evacuated. The SWAT response was captured in the video game and shown on national news broadcasts.