SWATing Caller Claimed Murders, Bomb

The Sarasota County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office is investigating a call from a person who claimed he killed his parents, had a bomb and was suicidal, but investigators determined it was a prank known as SWATing. During a 14-minute call on a non-emergency telephone line last Sunday evening, the caller was hysterical and emotional, gave his name as Ryan and said he was 15 years-old. According to the Herald-Tribune newspaper, 33 deputies and seven crews of fire and EMS personnel responded to the address, but then discovered all the caller’s information was false. The residents of the house were not involved in the prank, investigators said. SWATing calls are usually made with the assistance of Internet voice carriers, and sometimes with the assistance of so-called “spoofing” services that allow the caller to display a false telephone number to emergency services. Listen to the prank call here.