‘Swatting’ reported in Wise County

Wise County Messenger
By ops@our-hometown.com 
Published on September 30, 2022
BY BRIAN KNOX
bknox@wcmessenger.com

It appears a Wise County resident has become the victim of a “swatting” incident.

If you aren’t familiar with the term, “swatting” refers to a prank call to law enforcement in an attempt to cause a large number of armed officers — such as a SWAT team — to respond to a particular place.

According to the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers Sept. 18 received a call from a woman who claimed she had been in a dispute and had shot her boyfriend. Deputies responded to a location on Campbell Lane in far south Wise County near Springtown and found a woman live streaming, but no shooting had taken place.

Deputies suspect one of her viewers anonymously made the call to law enforcement.

“There were 35 screen names receiving the images,” said Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin. “CID will be reviewing the 911 call. If the caller is identified, charges will be filed.”

The person who made the call could be charged with making a false report, a Class B misdemeanor.

Luckily, no one was injured in the “swatting” incident.