Canyon County Sheriff Issues Warning About ‘Swatting’ to Public

We're lucky to live in an area as safe as the Treasure Valley and we are lucky to be served by so many amazing, local, first responders.

When there's a need, our local heroes jump to the cause to be there for us.

One call into 9-1-1 in the early hours of this morning, Friday, August 7th, has local authorities sending out a pretty serious warning to the public.

This morning around 6:50 a.m., CCSO dispatch received a 911 call from a juvenile male claiming he'd stabbed his mother and was threatening to harm his brother. The caller also made threats to shoot law enforcement officers who responded.  Multiple CCSO deputies, along with Caldwell Police Department and Idaho State Police, responded to the reported address on the 16000 block of Kimball Ave. Upon arrival, deputies made contact with all residents at the address, who were found safe and uninjured. Residents reported no knowledge of anyone by the name given by the caller.  Based on the investigation, this incident has been determined to be a “swatting” call — a false report designed to trigger a heavy emergency response.

 

So what on earth is 'swatting'?

According to the Canyon County Sheriff's Office, 'swatting' is when someone reports a false crime in order to spark a large police response. Obviously, there's nothing funny about this kind of a 'prank'.

Even if resolved, the sheriff's office warned that this causes issues elsewhere--not just where the emergency response is headed.

These types of calls, with threats as serious as the one made this morning, take numerous resources and first responders away from real emergencies happening elsewhere in the county.

Most importantly? The Canyon County Sheriff's office reminds the public that these false reports are a crime in themselves.