Video game software writer latest 'swatting' victim
LA MARQUE, TX -- A La Marque man is the latest victim in a growing trend around the country called swatting, a incident where a false report, usually of a critical situation in progress, that initiates a big police or SWAT response.
"They said that I had killed my parents, using an AR-15," said gamer Wes Wolfe. "They ended the call that they were going to go kill someone else."
Wes Wolfe said he found out that he was a victim of swatting after police surrounded his home Thursday. Wolfe said his mother greeted officers outside of their La Marque home.
"I got a call from my mother that I need to walk out with my hands in the air," said Wolfe.
Neighbors said they saw a large police presence down their street, and thought something bad had happened.
"I thought it was something serious," said Kenneth Edwards.
Edwards said it looked like the entire town's police force was in his neighborhood. The incident took up valuable resources for the small police department.
"You have to treat it as a viable threat," said La Marque Det. Sgt. Shawn Spurill
After speaking with Wolfe, police said they knew it was a prank and began looking for the person who made the call.
"I have a good understanding of how the situation came around," said Wolfe.
Wolfe said in the past few days he's received threats on Twitter. One user issued a death threat. Wolfe said the anger is coming from up of Minecraft gamers who are upset over a third-party software dispute that involves Wolfe.
"If I'm going to pay taxes, I want my tax dollars to be productive. Not on wasteful resources like that," said Edwards.
La Marque police said the suspect made the call from an Internet line, so catching him will be difficult. The person who made the call can be charged federally. In fact, FBI has been handling many of the swatting calls.
