Recently, a new trend, swatting, has been emerging in which people make prank calls to authorities in order to lure them to a location under a guise that a crime is occurring. On Sept. 19, Rosemead High School and San Gabriel High School were victims of swatting as someone led the authorities to believe an armed perpetrator with a gun was on route to both schools leading to the subsequent modified lockdown at Gabrielino. Swatting endangers people and federal laws against swatting should be enacted.
Although swatting incidents have been occurring more frequently, it is not new, according to CNN, “It was on the FBI’s radar since 2008-but its origins are murky.”
However, despite the knowledge of swatting since 2008, federal authorities have not enacted legislation banning these “prank calls.” In 2018, a bill, the Anti-Swatting Act of 2018 was introduced to Congress but is still under review.
This bill should be put into legislation as swatting endangers the lives of people where the prank calls are directed to and can waste the time and money of emergency services.
In 2017, swatting caused the death of an innocent man, Andrew Finch, as a call was directed to his house. As he went outside of his home, he was shot by the FBI after he made an unexpected movement which killed him. Tyler Barriss, had made the hoax call after being frustrated with another player while playing “Call of Duty.” However, Barriss used the wrong address and Finch had not been the person he had been playing with.
In the case of swatting incident that occurred at Rosemead and San Gabriel High School, it led to full lockdowns at both campuses.
Lt. Ryan Vienna, in a statement to Mercury News said, “The Rosemead incident drew a heavy law enforcement response: about 30 deputies, a number of the sheriff’s Special Bureau Teams and a helicopter unit.”
At Gabrielino, the lockdown impeded learning and caused fear among students.
“We had to tell over 1700 plus people on our campus, we’re on a lockdown and nobody knows exactly what that means so there’s fear,’” stated Principal Sharron Heinreich. “I think our staff and kids did a great job but everyone [wanted] to find our what was going on.”
Swatting calls have caused havoc and wasted valuable time and resources and should have federal legislation posing ramifications. The Anti Swatting Act of 2018 should be passed, ensuring that swatting incidents do not occur.
Swatting incidents have caused substantial damage, and we need to address this pressing issue in order to find a solution.
