Why Did SWAT Teams Enter This Long Island Home??

Why were over 70 emergency responders...including the Nassau County police, and MTA, plus hostage negotiators and even SWAT teams dispatched to a Long Beach, Long Island home the other day?

Well, an anonymous call came in claiming that they were a 17 year old resident of the home and that they had just murdered their own mother and brother. Once emergency crews intervened they quickly realized none of this was the case as they discovered the 17 year old simply playing a game of Call of Duty. Seems the caller was playing against the teenager online and had lost. This, authorities believe, is what spurred the call. Was this a case of what is known as "swatting"?

The hoax – involving more than 70 emergency responders – appears to have been an instance of a careless “game” called Swatting.

 

“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,” Long Beach police commissioner Michael Tagney told the local station. “It’s very sophisticated. Unfortunately, it’s very dangerous.”