REGINA — The Regina Police Service is warning the public about the serious consequences of “swatting” after a false emergency call prompted a tactical team to forcibly enter a southwest Regina home last month.
A 14-year-old boy accused of making the hoax report now faces a criminal charge.
“This is not a harmless prank,” said Acting Chief Lorilee Davies in a media release on Nov. 13. “False reports to police not only put the public and police at risk of injury, or worse, but it takes our officers away from dealing with real crime and community safety concerns.”
The incident unfolded shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, when RPS communications centre received a report that a woman had been shot inside a home, and the armed suspect and a third person were still inside.
Believing they were facing an active violent threat, police dispatched several members of the Tactical Support Unit.
Inside, they didn’t find a shooter and no injured victim from a gunshot. Instead, the police action itself resulted in a woman inside the home sustaining minor physical injuries. She and another resident were located, both safe but terrified.
Davies said this is the first reported incident of this nature involving the Regina Police Service, and even one occurrence like this is one too many.
“These are real people, real victims who, through no fault of their own, are being put into a high-risk and scary situation,” said Davies. “It’s not acceptable.”
The male youth will make his first appearance in Regina Provincial Youth Court on Dec. 18.
