Barrie Police and its Tactical Support Unit descended on a Penetang Street home Monday night after a report of a frightening crime that turned out to be a "swatting" hoax.
A bogus 911 caller claimed to have shot his younger brother and tied up his parents inside the home.
The unidentified male caller also claimed the home was surrounded by his friends and police would be shot at.
"We've had four swatting incidents over the last two years," said Barrie Police Const. Sarah Bamford. "They've usually occurred during the day whereas this one occurred last night after 9:30 p.m."
A tenant who did not want to be identified nor discuss details would only say responding officers were very professional.
"They did an amazing job. Police did a superb job," he said. "At no point was anybody in any real harm. They made sure everybody was safe and out of the location as quickly as possible. Just maintained everybody being calm."
The Tac Unit contained the immediate area and safely removed five adults from inside the home which is located at St. Vincent Street.
Police say it was quickly determined that the residents had been victims of a "swatting" incident.
Swatting is the act of deceiving an emergency service into sending police to another person's address based on false reporting of a serious emergency.
The term derives from SWAT or Special Weapons and Tactics, a specialized type of police unit.
"The problem with swatting incidents is that they create a lot of fear," said Bamford. "They place public safety at risk and they disrupt communities especially if it happens in the middle of the night. But most importantly it wastes valuable emergency services. It ties up police, paramedics, fire and it's a huge response and very costly too."
Swatting has become known to police forces across North America and is thought to have originated with online gaming.
Bamford says gamers make a phoney 911 call through their gaming or through voice calls and then watch onscreen as police enter their friends' home.
The police don't find it funny but the hoaxers do.
"If convicted they can face jail time," said Bamford. "There's substantial fines. Those fines can go towards reimbursing the cost of emergency services that were called out. But generally you'd be looking at charges stemming from public mischief to convey false information with the intent to alarm."
Fines could be up to $10,000.
There were no gamers at the house targeted Monday night, Bamford said.
The phoney emergency call was made through online gaming or voice over Internet so the caller could be anywhere in North America, according to Bamford.
Catching this swatting suspect will be a challenge.
"It's not as easy as obtaining a cell phone number. This person has it through online gaming or voice over Internet so this caller could be anywhere in North America."
The tenant said he didn't know anything about what happened until told by reporters.
He was in the bathroom when police arrived and had this message for the suspect.
"I'm glad I was part of the practical joke and I hope they got amused," he said, shocked that someone would do such a thing. "I've never even heard about this until you told me."
Police are still investigating and are urging anyone with information to contact them, especially anyone in the gaming community who may have also fallen victim to swatting.
Police can be reached at 705-725-7025, ext. 2129 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or visit tipsubmit.com.
