False Report Sends Police To Renton Family's Home

RENTON, WA — A Renton mother and her children were startled to find police at their home early Friday morning, the result of a man falsely reporting an incident at the home, according to police.

According to Renton police, officers went to the home around 3 a.m. Friday to perform a welfare check after getting a call about an incident at the home. Renton mother Michelle Do told KOMO that someone reported a man had murdered the family. Do said she felt like she was the victim of a "swatting" prank — where someone calls 911 to report a hoax about a hostage situation or gunman.

Although rare, swatting pranks have been used in Puget Sound and across the country — in some cases with deadly consequences.

Last week, Seattle author Ijeoma Oluo was the victim of swatting. However, she had registered her address with the King County Sheriff's Office, and so police contacted Oluo before sending police to her home, preventing a potentially serious encounter.

In 2017, Andrew Thomas Finch was shot and killed by a SWAT team in Wichita, Kansas. Tyler Barriss, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in March for calling in a fake hostage situation at Finch's house. Finch and Barriss were involved in a feud over the game "Call of Duty: WWII."

Seattle police have established a registry for people who think they might be the victim of a swatting, the first of its kind in the nation.

Renton police spokeswoman Sandra Havlik said the caller will likely be cited for making a false report. The SWAT team did not respond to the