Vengeful gamer incites SWAT response with false shooting report
Jun 22, 2012, 6:08 AM | Updated: 2:12 pm
A 911 call that prompted a SWAT response in Kingston turned out to be a hoax sparked by a bitter online gamer. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
A 911 call that prompted a SWAT response in Kingston
turned out to be a hoax sparked by a bitter online gamer.
The false report indicated a father had shot his 14-year-old daughter after finding out she was pregnant.
“Certainly this is something that would get law
enforcement’s attention in a nano second,” says Deputy
Scott Wilson, with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
The 911 caller reportedly told authorities that the father
of the teen was walking around the house crazy with a gun.
When law enforcement responded to the home, Wilson says
they were met with a very different scene.
“They saw the alleged shooter, in this case the father,
was in the backyard of the residence just acting very,
very normal.”
Wilson says authorities took the man into custody and
cleared the house.
“There was no injured or shot girl. There was no girl
period, and everybody in the house was safe and fine,”
says Wilson. “Once this was discovered, the man of course
was unhandcuffed.”
It was at this time, Wilson says, that the man’s 16-year-
old son spoke up.
“His 16-year-old son said he believed he may have an
answer to why this occurred, and this has to do with his
Internet gaming.”
The 16-year-old had reportedly been playing an
online video game with somebody in British Columbia, but
when the Canadian player was kicked off the gaming
website, he set out to get back at the Kingston kid.
“He indicated to the kid that, ‘I’m going to SWAT you, or
I’m going to have your house swatted.’ I’m going to report
something to get law enforcement to respond to your house
and we’ll see if we can amp this up to get the SWAT team
there,” says Wilson.
The B.C. gamer could potentially face charges for the
false report.
“We’re in the process of investigating these TTY messages
and trying to locate the person who sent them,” says
Wilson. “This is a potentially volatile situation and puts
the public and officers at a degree of risk. You have a
lot of vehicles coming from all over North Kitsap running
with lights and sirens for a potential crime scene.”
