GRINNELL, Iowa — The Grinnell Police Department evacuated a home Thursday after a threatening call they say turned out to be fraudulent.
Police said the caller claimed to have killed both his parents with an assault rifle, tied up his two siblings as hostages and poured gasoline over the house. The suspect said he would kill police and set the house on fire if they approached.
This prompted Grinnell police and the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Department to request the Central Iowa Regional Tactical Team. They told homeowners to shelter in place, set up a perimeter and evacuated the home before investigators determined the report was fraudulent, according to a news release.
"The male caller used actual names of individuals that lived in the home which made the fraudulent report very convincing to first responders," Chief of Police Michael McClelland said in a statement.
The Pella Police Department also reported receiving a similar call a short time later, which was also determined to be fraudulent.
"The actions of this criminal caller created a very real and substantial risk to our first responders and the general public," McClelland added. "We are taking all the necessary steps we can to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Grinnell police also shared the following statement from a December 2020 FBI public service announcement:
"Swatting is a term used to describe a hoax call made to emergency services, typically reporting an immediate threat to human life, to draw a response from law enforcement and the S.W.A.T. team to a specific location. Confusion on the part of homeowners or responding officers has resulted in health-related or violent consequences and pulls limited resources away from valid emergencies.
Swatting may be motivated by revenge, used as a form of harassment, or used as a prank, but it is a serious crime that may have potentially deadly consequences.
Offenders often use spoofing technology to anonymize their own phone numbers to make it appear to first responders as if the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone number. This enhances their credibility when communicating with dispatchers."
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