Carson City Sheriff’s Office is investigating a “swatting” call that happened Sunday morning that sent sheriff’s deputies to an apartment complex in the 3400 block of Airport Road.
Dispatch was contacted at around 10:05 a.m. by a fake caller who said he had shot his roommate at his Airport Road apartment and was threatening to shoot himself.
Carson City Sheriff’s Office investigated as the person on the phone made erratic statements about where he shot a person. After a man came out of the apartment and was briefly detained, Carson City Sheriff’s Office deputies did a sweep of nearby apartments, checking to see if everyone was safe.
While doing the sweep the “swatting” suspect called dispatch again while the occupant of the apartment had already come out, was detained, and speaking with deputies.
“Everyone is safe and everyone in the neighborhood cooperated well, allowing us to bring it to a quick resolution,” said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong.
“Swatting” is a malicious, illegal prank where someone makes a fake 911 emergency call to deceive law enforcement into sending an armed SWAT team to an unsuspecting victim’s location. Swatting callers fabricate severe, ongoing crises such as a hostage situation, bomb threat or active shooter to provoke chaos and panic.
