“I don’t know what I’m going to do right now. I’m freaking out,” the teen told a dispatcher. “I think I’m just going to shoot her (explicit) parents.”
The teen then demanded to speak with a hostage negotiator or he would kill the two people he claimed to have tied up with a 12-gauge shotgun.
The sheriff’s office SWAT team and hostage negotiation team moved in on the home, which was situated down a long driveway. About an hour into the standoff, the teen’s grandparents, who are also his guardians, arrived on scene and were able to assist officers in getting the teen to come out and surrender, said German Twp. police Chief Joseph Andzik.
The teen initially denied making the call, claiming he was sleeping when officers arrived at the house. However, after being interview by detectives, Andzik said he revealed crucial details that only would have been known by the actual caller. Eventually, he admitted to placing the call.
Andzik did not indicate if the teen had mental issues or what the motivation was for the hoax, but said it “seems to me he is someone who made a poor decision.”
Jason Morris, the teen’s father who lives in Arkansas, said in an interview via Skype that he spoke with one of his son’s friends and investigators after the incident, and believed the call was part of a prank known as “swatting.” As part of the prank, someone makes a hoax 911 call while disguising their phone number, drawing police and SWAT officers to the location of a made-up emergency. Morris said he was concerned why his son would participate in such a stunt.
“My kid had snipers on him today for the first time in his life,” Morris said. “It’s a very serious thing.”
This is one joke Andzik said isn’t a laughing matter to law enforcement, and will result in criminal charges for anyone who attempts it.
“We had SWAT teams out, we had hostage negotiation teams out,” Andzik said. “That’s a lot of money in today’s age that could be better spent in other areas of law enforcement all for a hoax.”
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