Sick trend of crime hoaxes is hitting home
Just when you think that people have just about reached the lowest possible depths of depravity, something new and even more shocking comes along.
It’s not that people are worse than they were before. Terrible behavior is hardly exclusive to modern times. But today’s technology has made it possible for people to commit terrible misdeeds on a large scale without even leaving home.
We received an unfortunate taste of this in our region in late February, as “swatting” incidents took place at schools in Berks and Chester counties and at a Reading restaurant, all in a matter of a couple of days.
Swatting is the practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.
It’s an absolutely terrible thing to do. At minimum it is absolutely terrifying for the people impacted and is a tremendous waste of law-enforcement time and resources. At its worst it leads to innocent people getting hurt or even killed. Whether the intent is disruption or some kind of perverse amusement, this is about as appalling as behavior can get.
People in our area just saw what a nightmare it can cause.
On Feb. 24 about 100 law enforcement officers descended on the Wilson High School campus during Friday morning classes after Berks dispatchers fielded a call, which was later determined to be a hoax, about a shooting in the school. Police in tactical gear descended on the school, and parents were frightened beyond belief until it became clear what actually happened.
Earlier that day police in Chester County received a call reporting that there was an intruder in Lionville Middle School. The school immediately entered into a modified lockdown and police responded. Police searched the building and confirmed that the report was unfounded.
Then two days later a hoax call sent a team of officers in tactical gear to a Wendy’s restaurant in Reading. The Berks County Emergency Response Team responded in force after a caller reported a person, possibly armed, was hiding in a dumpster near the business. A search revealed nothing suspicious, police said. But it caused a huge disturbance along a busy street and cost the restaurant several hours of business.
In all three cases, officials said the calls came from outside the area, though they weren’t exactly sure where. Technology enables people to make it look as if a call is coming from the place where the crime supposedly is taking place. That’s a big part of what makes the problem of swatting so vexing. These hoaxes could originate from anywhere around the country or around the world. That makes it very tough for law enforcement.
The problem is hardly new. Swatting has been around for years, often associated with online gamers. In the earliest instances, players would dishonestly summon law enforcement to competitors’ homes or businesses as a prank.
In one instance in 2020, a man falsely reported a violent encounter in a Tennessee home. When police swarmed the house with guns drawn, the homeowner came out with his hands visible, but then he lost his balance and fell. He died of a heart attack, according to The New York Times.
In 2017, a man was killed in Kansas after police responded to a fake homicide and hostage call, NBC News reported. A police officer shot the man, who had walked out on his porch unarmed.
The hoaxes at Wilson and Lionville are part of a troubling new trend of swatters targeting schools. Dozens of such incidents have been reported around the country in recent months. It’s a horrifying development in this age when so many of us live in fear of school shootings coming to our communities.
We applaud law enforcement and school officials here for handling the recent situations as well as they did, acting swiftly to safeguard the students and staff and doing the best they could to keep the lines of communication open with the community, especially the families of the children.
It’s one positive thing we can point to in this otherwise heartbreaking situation.