Prank brings heavy police presence to Wake Forest
WAKE FOREST (WTVD) -- A few Wake County residents received quite the scare Thursday evening as word trickled in of a bomb threat and gunman threatening to kill his brother.
The news sent homeowners in the 3100 block of Countryman Court in Wake Forest into a state of confusion as police evacuated the street.
The Wake Forest Police Department received two calls from the person making the threat and determined the situation to be a prank known as "swatting." That's where people place calls to police informing them of a potential threat or crime in progress -- prompting a heavy police response.
Lt. Larry Danforth with the Wake Forest PD, doesn't take these threats personally, but he is unhappy with the caller's actions.
"There are people out here that need me and need the police to respond," he told ABC11. "And if we're up here on something like this wasting a bunch of man hours, persons or people who need us may not be able to get us in a timely fashion."
Wake Forest PD evacuated everyone on Countryman Court and blocked off the surrounding streets. When police approached the home that was named in the threat call, they noticed a woman inside with her young child.
Police say, at first, she was too scared to come out of her home and was hiding inside of a closet. Her husband was not home at the time, but arrived to the heavy police presence and was taken to safety.
Danforth said the woman was visibly shaken when police approached her home.
"She came to the door not knowing what's going on. She didn't know it was her house," he said. "Imagine the panic and the terror on this young lady and her child hiding in her closet because of a prank. That's, that's sad."
Police are certain the call did not come from the house in question, but in fact, from someone outside of the area who is familiar with the neighborhood.
