CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — In light of a prank threat that drew dozens of emergency responders to a scene in Silver Spring Township on Tuesday, police are warning against swatting.
Swatting—the prank of falsely reporting a dangerous crisis that isn’t actually happening, often in an effort to draw out a SWAT team—has become a growing concern for law enforcement.
The incident in Silver Spring Township began with a call from an unknown male at 5:34 p.m. on Tuesday.
“He was stating that he was depressed and that he had just committed several serious acts, violent acts, against families and was still committing them,” said Silver Spring Twp. Police Chief Christopher Raubenstine.
Three minutes later, police began arriving on the 100 block of Ellis Alley to set up a perimeter and evacuate neighbors.
Police said they quickly began gathering evidence that the call was a hoax, but continued to treat it seriously until confirmed otherwise.
A total of 62 personnel from 17 first responder agencies, including a SWAT team, responded to the scene.
Police said the incident drew resources away from potential real emergencies.
“We’re using those resources that could normally be doing something else for them, whether it’s an ambulance call for help that they could be helping somebody, or just any call for service,” said Chief Raubenstine.
The investigation is ongoing into who made the call. Swatting charges can come with a penalty of up to five years in prison, or up to 20 years if “serious bodily injury” occurs as a result of the prank call.
“It’s more than a prank. It carries felony charges if we’re able to identify who did it, because it was intentional. It was known what was going to happen,” Raubenstine said.