Man Calls Westfield Police, Falsely Says He Shot Father, In 'Swatting' Incident

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Westfield police said that last Thursday, someone called them to say that "he shot his father and tied up his mother in the bathroom" at a location in Springfield. However, they determined the matter to be a type of hoax known as "swatting."

When the Westfield police got the call, the notified the police in nearby Springfield. Springfield officers who were dispatched did not find any evidence of such an incident, the Westfield police said.

Chief Christopher Battiloro confirmed Wednesday that the incident was viewed as a hoax. In their report, the Westfield police characterized the incident as "Swatting."

Swatting is defined in the Oxford dictionary as "The action or 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."

However, this type of prank can have serious consequences, tying up workers who might be needed on another emergency, or causing an accident.

Making a false 911 call is also a crime, as the FBI notes on its page on Swatting. They say they first identified the "phone hacking phenomenon" in 2008.

The FBI says that in 2009, a 19-year-old hacker was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison in for making numerous "swatting" calls.

That man was released nine years later in October 2018, according to federal prison records.

Read more about swatting and its consequences in Wired.

Previous Westfield And Union County Police Items

• Westfield Resident Scammed Into Emailing PIN Number To 'Cousin'
• Two Teens In Ski Masks Charged With Car Burglary In Westfield
• Thief Steals Rims And Tires Worth $6K From Summit Car
• Teen Arrested Twice For Westfield Car Thefts
• You Can't Be Nude By The Rahway River
• Theives Swipe $7K From Porsche In Westfield
• Cranford Police Issue Warning About Rise In Burglaries
• Teen Arrested Twice For Westfield Car Thefts
• Westfield Residents Report 'Suspicious' People, Vehicles
• Summit Car Thefts For July
• Cars Are Being Stolen At Union County Country Clubs
• 3 Police Are Injured As Westfield Teen Is Charged In Car Thefts
• Running Mercedes With Top Down Is Swiped At Mountainside 7-11
• One Car, Two Bikes Reported Stolen In Westfield

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