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Police probing Willimantic emergency call as 'swatting' incident

May 03, 2021 12:05 am • Last Updated: May 03, 2021 12:05 am

WILLIMANTIC (AP) — An emergency call that led Willimantic police to close down streets late Saturday night is being investigated as a possible “swatting” incident.

WFSB-TV reported the caller claimed to be a juvenile male and said he was “tired of being beat up” by his father and that he had a firearm and was planning on killing his parents and then himself.

Adjacent residents were evacuated and a reverse 911 call warned nearby residents to shelter in place. But when officers arrived at the multifamily residence, the building's upstairs residents said no one fitting the description of the caller lived there.

A downstairs resident arrived at the building while police were there and a subsequent search found no one in the residence.

Police are considering the incident an example of “swatting,” the name given to a hoax emergency call designed to provoke a response by a SWAT team.

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