Raleigh police are investigating back-to-back false emergency reports on Tuesday night that sent officers to homes 13 miles apart for non-existent crimes.
Police officers responded around 8:16 p.m. Tuesday to a reported stabbing at a home along Neiman Cove near Alder Pass, but the homeowner told them no such incident happened.
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About 21 minutes later, Raleigh police officers responded to another call of what they initially believed to be a homicide about 13 miles east at a home along Haig Point Way near Grand Traverse Drive. The homeowner there also told officers no such incident happened there either.
“The Raleigh Police Department takes swatting calls very seriously, as they divert resources from our citizens who may need officers to patrol and respond to actual crime,” the police department wrote in a news release.
Law enforcement officers are not unfamiliar with prank "swatting" calls. It is when someone makes a fake 911 call. WRAL News reported over a decade ago that online gamers were using "swatting" to prompt a SWAT raid of the home of another gamer, either as revenge or for amusement.
Seargeant Jennifer Brame with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office told WRAL News these incidents can be severe.
“Somebody could accidentally get hurt, depending on the severity of the swatting call. And it does utilize resources,” Brame said.
In both of Tuesday's situations the homeowners had no idea what officers were talking about.
Ring camera video shows the moment officers approached one of the homes Tuesday night, where the owner described it as the “oddest thing," but was glad the officers took the situation seriously.
Brame said 911 is not the number to play around with.
“We have to take every call seriously,” Brame said. “We don’t know what may be potentially on the other end of that call, so no matter what the call is, we will go, and we will answer the call.”
North Carolina law states that making false reports to law enforcement to obstruct or hinder them is generally a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail. If the report involves a child younger than 16 disappearing or a child being a victim of a serious felony (Classes A-C), it is a Class H felony, punishable by up to three years and three months in prison.
Although some may feel the consequences are not very severe, some say the charges can add up.
“If you do swatting and someone is seriously injured, you were looking at much more serious penalties and if you do squatting potentially the feds could take a look at you,” said Daniel Meier, the owner of Meier Group.
The Raleigh Police Department believes Tuesday’s incidents are connected. The department said its detectives always investigate where incidents are connected.
The investigation is ongoing.