COLUMBUS—The Columbus Police Department responded to a false shooting report Wednesday night. This intentional false report, often called “swatting,” is becoming more common.
“We want to use this opportunity to share tips on internet safety to prevent further calls of this type. “Swatting” is dangerous, exhausts public safety resources, and is a crime,” said Police Chief Steve Norman.
“Swatting” is when someone calls for emergency services and makes a false report of an emergency in hopes of generating a sizeable public safety response. Commonly, the caller is not in the same city or even state as the location they are calling about and makes the call to harass the residents.
“The significant police response that these calls prompt is dangerous and a waste of resources. While officers act on the information they received from the caller, the unsuspecting resident may not know the police are responding and believe someone is trying to break into their home,” Chief Norman added. “While responding to a false report, officers are taken away from conducting other police duties.”
False reporting of a crime is a B Misdemeanor and can carry a 180-day sentence. Falsely reporting an explosive device in a building is a Level 6 Felony and can carry a sentence of two and a half years.
At 11:26 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, officers were dispatched to a home in the 1700 block of South Drive after a male called dispatch reporting he had just shot his family and that he was going to kill himself.
Officers arrived, established a perimeter, and contacted the people inside the home. They determined that the male caller, not the property owner, had made a false report. The investigation is still ongoing, but investigators believe the suspect called in retaliation against a juvenile resident they had been communicating with online. The suspect is believed to be outside of Indiana.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, June 20, CPD received a bomb threat against Columbus Regional Hospital that referenced the address on South Drive and was believed to be connected. Still, the Police Department called in additional resources and ensured the report was false.
Police encourage all parents to speak to their children about internet safety and open those lines of communication with their children.
- Install parental controls on electronic devices
- Set time limits on device usage
- Turn off location services on all nonessential apps
- Know who your child is talking to online
- Teach children not to speak with or share personal information with anyone they don’t know
Sgt. Q. Smith regularly presents on internet safety for children. If you would like to schedule a presentation for a group, please contact her at jqsmith@columbus.in.gov.
For additional resources, refer to https://www.dhs.gov/know2protect, https://www.dfinow.org/, or https://www.commonsense.org/
