Sheriff's Office Releases Report on Sunday "Swatting" Call

On Sunday, June 15, at 9:01 p.m., the San Angelo Police Department received a call reporting a subject had just murdered his father and had tied up his mother in a residence in the 5300 block of Atlantic Street in Tom Green County. The caller further stated that he had a rifle and handgun and would shoot any responding officers.

The location of the reported offense was located outside the city limits of San Angelo. Tom Green County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the location, along with officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the San Angelo Police Department. A large perimeter around the location was established. Deputies from the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office then established an inter perimeter around the residence.

Although movement within the residence could be seen, officers were unable to establish communication with the residents until 10:25 p.m. Upon contact of the residents, all occupants exited the house without incident. It was then determined that the call was a hoax and no offense had occurred at the residence.

The prank call led to a full response from law enforcement and emergency personnel. Calls of this nature place law enforcement officers, emergency response personnel and citizens in a very dangerous situation. Law enforcement agencies around the country have recently been experiencing calls of this nature. These prank calls have been referred to as "swatting".[[{"fid":"6125","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default"},"type":"media","attributes":{}}]]

Swatting is the tricking of any emergency service into dispatching an emergency response based on the false report of an on-going critical incident. Episodes range from large to small, from the deployment of bomb squads, SWAT units and other police units, and the concurrent evacuations of schools and businesses, to a single fabricated police report meant to discredit an individual as a prank or personal vendetta. While it is a misdemeanor or a felony in every state (of the USA) in and of itself to report any untruth to law enforcement, swatting can cause massive disruption to the civil order and the public peace by the hoaxed deployment of police and other civic resources such as ambulances and fire departments. The term derives from SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), a highly specialized type of police unit.

This hoax call will be investigated by the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office. This offense is regarded as a very serious offense when hoax callers place citizens and emergency personnel at substantial risk. Anyone identified as being the caller will be charged criminally with the offense of False Alarm or Report.