The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station reported no arrests were made from a swatting incident in Castaic that prompted an emergency response Wednesday night to a home south of Hasley Canyon Road and west of The Old Road.
Station officials said 911 dispatched a call to the station that initially came from a veterans’ crisis hotline.
The informant indicated to 911 the suspect, or “disturbing party,” was a veteran high on methamphetamine who was having suicidal ideations. The report indicated the man had harmed his wife and kids, who were locked inside a home in the 27700 block of Hartford Avenue, according to the initial report.
The call went out shortly after 9 p.m., and due to the exigent circumstances, including the potential concerns for the health of the home’s occupants, deputies made contact within the residence within about five minutes, according to Deputy Robert Jensen, station spokesman.
“Deputies responded, created a tactical plan and made contact with the residents in a safe and very controlled way,” Jensen said. “Nobody in the house was harmed, nobody in the house had made the call.”
Once the incident was determined to be a swatting call, Jensen said, the station-level investigation concluded.
The crimes are often difficult to investigate with local resources due to privacy concerns and other challenges, he added. He said the station automatically shares reports of all incidents with the FBI, which announced a federal database in 2023 to track and investigate such crimes.
“The individuals who engage in this activity use technology, such as caller ID spoofing, social engineering, TTY, and prank calls to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone,” according to the FBI website. “Traditionally, law enforcement has seen swatters directing their actions toward individuals and residences. Increasingly, the FBI sees swatters targeting public places such as airports, schools and businesses.”
