A swatting call where a mischief maker falsely reported a shooting in a North Delta home led to some tense times Friday night (May 10).
Delta Police received a call at about 8:20 p.m. saying there had been a shooting in the house and the person with the gun was still holed up inside.
“So of course, that’s going to cause a very heavy police presence, very quickly, an active threat and a reported shooting,” said A/Insp. James Sandberg, public affairs manager for Delta Police.
About 20 officers surrounded the house and began trying to contact the occupants and discussed bringing in ERT. But after a few minutes, police found there were no signs of anything unusual inside.
“At that point, things have kind of settled down a little bit,” Sandberg said.
Police eventually contacted the occupants and a family of three walked out of the house. In all, it took about 15 minutes before police realized it was a swatting call.
Investigation is continuing to try to find suspects, said Sandberg.
Such incidents can create adverse affects such as reduced trust or anxiety when residents see police walking around with rifles, Sandberg said. Officers also are put at greater risk when they respond to such a call.
Members of the neighbourhood also want to know what’s going on near their homes, he added.
“People want to know and when they don’t know, what happens is speculation and conjecture,” Sandberg said.
