ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Roseville police are investigating an alleged swatting incident officers responded to a home in the Sun City community after receiving a report that "violent acts" were happening at the residence.
The Roseville Police Department said that just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, its dispatch received a call about a "significant act of violence" at a home in the northwest area of Roseville. A spokesperson for Roseville PD said that the details of the call required a large police presence.
However, police dispatchers began to notice inconsistencies with some of the information they got from the caller, even as officers were heading to the home.
"Within minutes, it was determined the people reporting this act had made everything up," Roseville PD said in a statement. "In fact, they were not at the residence where the reported act of violence was occurring."
Officers following up with the homeowners in Sun City also determined that the call had been completely fake.
This type of false 911 reporting is called "swatting" and is illegal. As Roseville police described in their statement, "swatting is a criminal harassment tactic whereby a caller reports a fake incident which elicits a large-scale emergency response from police and fire, showing up to an unsuspecting victim’s home."
It is not known why the call was made or who made the false report, but Roseville police said it is thoroughly investigating the incident. The department also commended the dispatch team for picking up on the clues that the call was fake.
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