Imagine this scene:
You’re sitting in your comfy suburban home when you notice a light flashing in your window.
You go to the front door, walk outside, and are immediately tackled and handcuffed. Your house is then searched. A full SWAT team has descended on your above, and you have absolutely no idea why.
Now imagine this. It actually happened.
And we apparently have something called “swatting” to blame for it.
This all happened Wednesday night, when the county 911 center received a call that apparently had been routed from Utah alerted them to an incident that occurred on Cascade Road in Springfield.
The caller said a shooting had occurred and a man was barricaded inside the home.
Authorities dispatched a SWAT team and close to 60 emergency responders to the scene.
They don’t really take chances in these instances. Now they believe it was all a hoax. They didn’t know that then, however.
The technology that we find ourselves increasingly up to our ears in plays a role in all this.
Apparently the Internet is abuzz with a new fad called “swatting,” in which bogus callers attempt to fool emergency communications centers into ordering a response.
They were successful the other night here in Delaware County. Some fun, eh?
They caused some serious turmoil for a Springfield family that had nothing to do with the bogus call. They caused untold aggravation for county emergency responders. And they risked causing a real catastrophe.
Let’s hope they can track down exactly who is responsible for playing such a dangerous game.
In the meantime, it is just one more example of what can happen when the technology we are increasingly dependent on falls into the wrong hands.
You’re sitting in your comfy suburban home when you notice a light flashing in your window.
You go to the front door, walk outside, and are immediately tackled and handcuffed. Your house is then searched. A full SWAT team has descended on your above, and you have absolutely no idea why.
Now imagine this. It actually happened.
And we apparently have something called “swatting” to blame for it.
This all happened Wednesday night, when the county 911 center received a call that apparently had been routed from Utah alerted them to an incident that occurred on Cascade Road in Springfield.
The caller said a shooting had occurred and a man was barricaded inside the home.
Authorities dispatched a SWAT team and close to 60 emergency responders to the scene.
They don’t really take chances in these instances. Now they believe it was all a hoax. They didn’t know that then, however.
The technology that we find ourselves increasingly up to our ears in plays a role in all this.
Apparently the Internet is abuzz with a new fad called “swatting,” in which bogus callers attempt to fool emergency communications centers into ordering a response.
They were successful the other night here in Delaware County. Some fun, eh?
They caused some serious turmoil for a Springfield family that had nothing to do with the bogus call. They caused untold aggravation for county emergency responders. And they risked causing a real catastrophe.
Let’s hope they can track down exactly who is responsible for playing such a dangerous game.
In the meantime, it is just one more example of what can happen when the technology we are increasingly dependent on falls into the wrong hands.
Comments
I know I hear about the need for "Reasonable Suspicion" for a police officer to make arrest.
Is a anonymous call, routed through Utah, enough to support this premise?
I know someone could easily say "better safe than sorry!" But 60 people is overkill, yes?
I agree that these type of people need to be tracked, found and arrested for the mayhem they cause.
Maybe I will get lucky and a lawyer will respond.