Grove City College Targeted With False ‘Swatting’ Call
“The swatting hoax drew a large police presence to the college in Grove City.”
This has been happening at schools all over the country since August.
CBS News reports:
Grove City College targeted in false “swatting” call, state police say
Grove City College in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, is believed to have been targeted in a false “swatting” call on Sunday, Pennsylvania State Police said.
In a news release on Sunday night, state police said law enforcement received a report of shots fired at the Buhl Library on the campus of Grove City College. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, and “no evidence of an active shooter, or victims or witnesses” was found. State police said it is believed to be a computer-generated swatting call.
The campus is secure, and there were no reported injuries.
“There are no threats to the public at this time,” state police said.
The swatting hoax drew a large police presence to the college in Grove City. Photos from the scene showed a heavy law enforcement presence, including Pennsylvania State Police troopers and a SWAT team.
The college was put on a “precautionary lockdown” around 5:30 p.m., but it was lifted around 7 p.m.
In an email to students at 4:44 p.m., Grove City said police were investigating a “potentially dangerous situation” reported near the library.
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Comments
Perhaps the police should stop accepting calls from burner phones and spoofed phone numbers.
The problem, of course, is that as soon as they don’t respond, it’ll be for real and there will be hell to pay.
A Perplexity.ai conversation:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/why-do-police-accept-calls-fro-5bF.6remTKuXEkzZL3ezsQ#0
I conclude that it’s foolish of police to accept calls from burner phones and spoofed phone numbers.
Except that 911 call centers don’t have any way (currently) to identify burner phones and spoofed numbers in real time. So should they wait a couple of hours to investigate and determine if the number is spoofed or a burner before dispatching a response? As stated by another, as soon as it is a real call and they don’t respond there will be hell to pay.
They can’t afford the risk that the call might be genuine. Burner phones are perfectly legitimate things to have, and someone who has one could easily have a genuine emergency.
I knew someone whose mother died because their street address was exactly the same as that of the nearest hospital, but a few towns over, so when the mother collapsed and they called for an ambulance to that address the dispatcher assumed it was a prank call and refused to send one.
I spent my childhood in Grove City in the 59s and 60s. I haven’t been back in decades. I fear I would not recognize it today. Such a shame, too. It was a warm, safe, and beautiful community.