‘Swatting’ call draws police to executive’s home

PALO ALTO >> Police arrived in force at a home Tuesday night heavily armed and fearing the worst, responding to a 911 call in which someone said he had just shot his wife, had his kids tied up and was armed with a cache of pipe bombs he was ready to use on officers.

With crisis negotiators on hand, police were prepared for a long standoff. Instead, the tension was over within minutes when bewildered residents came out peacefully, and a police search of the home turned up none of what was described in the call.

There was no shooting. There were no pipe bombs. There were no children.

Now police detectives are investigating what they believe was a hoax, or “swatting” call, in which the caller used an untraceable phone number and the resident’s name to get police to head to the Emerson Street home.

The unknown culprit behind the hoax call was impersonating a Facebook executive, who was briefly detained, then released at the scene. It was not clear why the victim was targeted.

“We thank the city of Palo Alto for their swift and thoughtful response,” reads a statement from Facebook spokesman Anthony Harrison released on Wednesday. “(Police) quickly identified this as a prank, and we are glad that our colleague and his family are safe.”

In a news release, police said that if the hoax caller is caught, he or she faces criminal charges and may be held liable for the monetary costs of the police response.

“Hoax threats such as this are not only criminal in nature, but they also create a great deal of stress and anxiety for neighbors,” police wrote. “The law enforcement response to this incident took officers away from their other important duties and calls.”

High-profile swatting calls have surfaced periodically across the country, perhaps most infamously in December 2017 when three people living in Ohio, Kansas and Los Angeles escalated an online video game rivalry that led to a 911 call reporting a slaying and armed hostage