Nearby homes were evacuated and dozens of police responded to a report of an armed man shooting his mother and threatening to use explosives – and it was all fake.
Police were sent to a home in Des Moines, Iowa just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9, 2013 after they received a report that a man used an AK-47 to shoot his mother. The report, received from a service that transfers calls for the hearing-impaired, indicated the man was threatening to set off explosives if police came near the home.
Police evacuated nearby homes and set up for a possible standoff situation and prepared to negotiate with someone inside the house.
That’s when a man approached police and told them he was trying to get to his house, which turned out to be the house where the reported shooting happened.
Police searched the house and found no one inside.
Police said they think the whole incident was a case of SWATing, which is when someone makes a bogus report to get a massive emergency response. It’s reportedly the first incident of SWATing in Des Moines.
Police said the person who made the bogus call could face several criminal charges. They had not yet said who made the emergency call.