Suburban Comm Centers Receive SWATing Calls

Two suburban Indianapolis (Ind.) police departments received telephone calls from people claiming they held hostages or had shot people, triggering a large law enforcement response to residences, but which turned out to be hoaxes. At least one of the separate SWATing incidents was later linked to computer gaming, police said. No one was hurt in either incident, but police pointed out the potential dangers of the police response and vowed to track down whoever made the calls. The first call sent Zionsville police to a house where the caller told a dispatcher he had five hostages, an AK-47 and explosives, and that he wanted $100,000. Arriving officers heard loud reports—later determined to be fireworks—which ramped up the tension. When a dispatcher called the home, the occupants refused to come out, fearing it was the people who had been calling and harassing them. After the residents dialed 911, they came outside and police determined the hoax. In the second incident in the town of Carmel, someone dialed a TTY relay service and relayed that she had killed her husband and son, and shot her daughter with a shotgun. She vowed to shoot any officer who came to the house. Police arrived, evacuated the house and learned of the hoax. Read more about the incidents and listen to the 911 calls here.