FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — They're bogus 911 calls with real consequences — and public figures or celebrities are often the victims.
Lasts week, activist David Hogg in Parkland and fellow #NeverAgain student leader Cameron Kasky in West Delray were targeted by "swatting" calls, according to authorities in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Named after the response by police SWAT squads who are called out to deal with the calls, swatting callers often describe emergencies involving barricaded gunmen or hostages in an attempt to draw heavily armed officers. These fake 911 callers often spoof a victim's phone, making it appear that the victim is placing the emergency call.
According to the FBI, which has issued warnings about swatting since 2008, there are about 400 swatting calls across the nation annually.
The consequences can be deadly. In December, an unsuspecting Wichita, Kan., man was killed by police who came to his home to investigate a supposed murder and a gunman holding victims at gunpoint. Authorities were called out to the home of Andrew Finch after a dispute between online gamers that prompted the fake 911 call to his address. The caller gave police a wrong address for Finch that was unrelated to the gamers' intended target.
The alleged 911 caller was charged with manslaughter.
After Finch's death, U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., in introduced a bill that would increase punishment for people caught swatting — a prison sentence of up to 20 years if someone is seriously hurt and up to life in prison if someone is killed.
In Parkland, there was no one at the Hogg home when deputies arrived Tuesday morning. A 911 caller claimed he was armed inside the home with multiple weapons and had hurt people, Broward Sheriff Office spokeswoman Gina Carter said. The caller did not say David Hogg was among the supposed victims.
Similarly, in West Delray, authorities responded to the home of Jeffrey Kasky, father of #NeverAgain founder Cameron Kasky, who lives there part-time. Neither was home at the time. However, authorities say other relatives were.
The Kasky residence swatting incident happened Wednesday morning and authorities went to the address, but SWAT remained on standby, said spokeswoman Teri Barbera of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
"The caller did claim that there was an incident there, someone had been stabbed, the person was armed and that he was going to start shooting other people in the home," she said.
Investigators were able to reach Kasky, who was surprised to learn of the swatting incident at his home, Barbera said.
On Friday, the elder Kasky said he and his son were on a flight to San Francisco and learned about the swatting call upon landing, after it had been resolved.
"Cameron is involved in an organization that is currently focused on registering young people to vote. I am involved in a separate organization that is currently involved in taking on NRA-backed candidates so we can for the first time in decades effect some real federal change in our gun laws," he said. "There are people who make untold millions of dollars off of selling guns who feel threatened by Cameron and his team's actions and by the actions that I'm undertaking with my group."
The elder Kasky's organization is called Families vs. Assault Rifles. It was founded by him and other parents of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High students.
"My hope is that whoever it is that made these phone calls is themselves registered to vote and that they participate in the democratic process in the way it was intended, that they go to the ballot box and that they encourage other people," Kasky said. "Whether they agree with what the students are doing or not, they should go out and vote. That's what these people should do."
Responding to the fake emergency at Kasky's residence took about an hour of authorities' time, but the only way to learn whether police are being fooled is by showing up and investigating, authorities say.
"We have to look at this as though it were true. We deployed a lot of resources and ultimately in the end, it was a great practicing experience for us, but also very costly," Barbera said. "It depleted a lot of our resources; we shut down a neighborhood."
Authorities did not indicate whether the Parkland and West Delray hoaxes were connected.
Hogg and Kasky have emerged as public figures since the Feb. 14 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High. But most often celebrities are the targets of swatting.
In 2015, Miami Beach police were called to the mansion of rapper Lil Wayne on a report that there were four murder victims inside his home. Police released a recording of the 911 call in which a male voice says: in a monotone voice: "I just shot four people, killing whoever else I see. I don't give a (expletive) if you're a cop or not. I'm shooting to kill everyone."
It drew out SWAT officers and hostage negotiation teams, and turned out to be a hoax, Miami Beach Police Officer Ernesto Rodriguez said.
"Lil Wayne was again a swatting victim in 2016 and, this time, was in his Miami Beach mansion when police arrived.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Lil Wayne sold his mansion at a loss for $10 million after the swatting incidents. His listing agent said: "He didn't enjoy having prank calls and things like that happening."
