Georgia teen arrested for making 'swatting calls' in 4 states
Victim of 'swatting call' discusses dangerous encouter
Law enforcement said it is a very dangerous thing to do as it puts innocent lives in danger. The victim of a 'swatting call' in Cherokee County describes his late-night fright when deputies swarmed his home after someone called 911 reporting a grotesque murder in progress at his home.
CANTON, Ga. - A teenager was charged after a dangerous "swatting call." The 911 call sent dozens of law enforcement officers to a home in Cherokee County.
"Some called 911 said he had killed his mother, and was about to kill his two sisters. He was barricaded in the home and would shoot any law enforcement that arrived," said Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Capt. Jay Baker.
"It was very scary, it was very alarming, and, man, it’s just, I still to this day can’t believe it happened" said the homeowner.
More than 30 law enforcement officers responded to the home in the Governor's Preserve subdivision. Deputies had the house surrounded. The SWAT team was on the way.
It was 5 a.m., in mid-March, the homeowner came to the door.
"So, as I open the door to try to figure out what is going on, they get on the horn and they ask me, ‘Sir, could you please put your hands up and walk towards us slowly.’ And they said, ‘We want to see your hands.’ So, I did exactly that, didn’t know what was going on and as soon as I got to the end of the driveway, I could see there’s cop cars all lined up our street, they have riot gear, they have shields out, they have guns out, and my first reaction is ‘What the heck’s going on?’" the homeowner said.
"A man came out of the house and looked confused and alarmed. We quickly began to realize this was a swatting situation, a fake call to 911," said Capt. Baker.
"They said, ‘Sir, we received a call claiming to be your son and saying he just murdered his mother and he’s going to murder his sisters and his father too.’ And at that point I knew something was kind of odd because I don’t have daughters,"
Investigators went to work trying to trace the call. It took time, and multiple search warrants.
"Search warrants on some voice over IP addresses, cell phones, some email addresses, and we were able to identify a 15-year-old who lives in Harlem, Georgia, which is near Augusta," said Capt. Baker.
Detectives said the call was not random, they believe the 15-year-old, or someone he knows, had been playing an online game with someone who lives in the Cherokee County house.
"We seized a PlayStation from the 15-year-old as well as some cell phones at his home and his voice is on the PlayStation making these calls," said Capt. Baker.
While the teen may have thought it was a prank, he's now facing criminal charges, including a felony of terroristic threats.
"We take it very seriously. Anyone that would consider doing something like this needs to know if we can locate you we will arrest you. Swatting is not a prank and it can lead to people getting killed," said Capt. Baker.
Investigators said the same night, the same teen also made similar swatting calls to 911 centers in Florida, North Carolina, and Connecticut. In two of those cases, the SWAT team kicked down the door. Fortunately, no one was hurt.