the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fair Lawn NJ, in what police are calling a “swatting ” incident , on January 5th Fail Lawn Police were summoned to a home off of Route 208 , the same home that had been targeted by “swatters” in September.
“Swatting” refers to a harassment technique most often perpetrated by members of the online gaming community. Swatting entails generating an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretenses. Swatters do this by making phone calls to emergency lines like 911 and falsely reporting a violent emergency situation, such as a shooting or hostage situation.
Swatters often consider what they are doing to be a prank, but it can come with serious consequences. Swatting occupies law enforcement response teams, making them unavailable to respond to real emergencies. There have even been swatting incidents where law enforcement officers were shot, and in one case the victim of the swatting was shot dead by law enforcement.
The Fair Lawn police department posted on Facebook, warning that “swatting” is a serious crime.
“Swatting is serious and if you are caught, you will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Not only do you put first responders in harms way but it’s also scary for the person it’s being done to. Rest assured we will take every response serious. Your safety is our priority!”
