Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Investigating 'Swatting' Cases

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI — The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office received a call on Sept. 6 from a teenager saying his parents had walked in on him making a bomb and he had shot him. But there was another issue. The incident mentioned in the call was made up, and the caller wasn't who he said he was.

That Sept. 6 incident is one of two "swatting" incidents the Washtenaw County Sheriff's office said on Tuesday it is investigating. Swatting was described by the sheriff's office as when someone calls 911 claiming a serious crime has been committed by an unsuspecting victim, prompting law enforcement to respond with haste and sometimes in force.

"Some may see this as merely an elaborate prank, but having law enforcement respond can have serious consequences," the sheriff's office said in a news release. "It also ties up law enforcement resources that could be used for a real emergency."

During the Sept. 6 incident, police said the swatter called 911 around 1:20 a.m. pretending to be a 17-year-old living at a home in the 2000 block of Valleyview Drive in Superior Township.

The swatter said his mother and father walked in on him making a bomb and that he accidentally shot them, according to police. Deputies said they responded to the scene and formed a perimeter around the home while they made contact at the front door. The family answered the door and deputies said they were able to determine no one was harmed and that it was a fake call.

Deputies said the caller had been able to spoof an actual phone number from the house, making it seem as if the call was coming from the home.

Police said another swatting incident took place around 1:45 a.m. Aug. 31, when a person called 911 pretending to be a 17-year-old living at a home in the 1000 block of Rue Willette in Ypsilanti Township.

The swatter used the actual name of the 17-year-old who lives at the address and said that during an argument with his mother he shot her and that she was not breathing, according to deputies.

When authorities responded to the address, deputies said they approached and surrounded the home. Police said they were able to see into the home from the large front window and told dispatch to ask the suspect to come out with his hands up. The swatter then hung up on dispatch and deputies were forced to engage with the homeowners thinking there was a possible shooter and victim inside.

After making contact with the family, temporarily detaining the 17-year-old and clearing the home to ensure everything was OK, deputies said it became clear the call was a hoax.

"The homeowners had no idea why we were there and responding deputies had no idea this was a fake call," the sheriff's office said in a news release.

Deputies said there are no suspects in either incident.

Deputies said that, by and large, swatting victims and perpetrators play online video games and personal information gathered through that medium is used during the calls.

"While everyone should be careful to maintain their online privacy, online gamers should take extra care to ensure they won’t be victims of swatting," the sheriff's office said. "For starters, gamers should avoid divulging information about their identity or location on in-game chat channels or gaming forums. They should also avoid using screen names that would make it easy for strangers to identify them."