The ‘swatting’ prank has hit New York, but unlike the cases in Los Angeles that involved the homes of the rich and famous, a prankster on Long Island sent a SWAT team to the home of the teen who beat him in Call of Duty.
CBS New York reports that people were called to a Long Beach home around 3 p.m. Tuesday. A man said that he shot family members and had threatened to shoot more. Nassau County, Long Beach and MTA police rushed to the home, bringing SWAT teams along, only to discover that it was all a prank.
“In this … bizarre world of Swatting, you get points for the helicopter, for the police cars, for the SWAT team, for the type of entry,” Michael Tagney, Long Beach police commissioner, told CBS NY. “It’s very sophisticated. Unfortunately, it’s very dangerous.”
Police said that they found a 17-year-old in the home playing Call of Duty online, reports The New York Daily News. They suspect that the person the teen beat pulled the prank and investigators are trying to find out who placed the call. That person could be charged with a crime and may be forced to pay for the police response.
“Swatting” has become a nationwide problem and dominated headlines last winter when a 12-year-old was charged with calling police to the home of actor Ashton Kutcher. Several other celebrities were victims of the pranks, including Kim Kardashian and Chris Brown.