Lexington Police among growing number of law enforcement answering ‘swatting’ calls

Authorities responded to bogus calls in Madison, Rowan and Bath counties on Thursday

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Just before 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, Lexington Police received a call about a shooting in the 400 block of Robertson Street.  When officers arrived, there was no evidence of a shooting.

Investigators say it was a “swatting” call.  Swatting is when someone makes a prank call to 911 or emergency services to try to get a large number of armed law enforcement officers to respond to a particular address.  It’s not only a waste of time, money and resources, it can be potentially dangerous for law enforcement and if an unknowing person happens to be at the address the swatter called-in.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has responded to several swatting calls over the past two days targeting Morehead State University, St. Claire HealthCare, the Rowan County Public School system and fire department.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday responded to Berea at two different locations after receiving reports of shootings.  Deputies say all of the calls were unfounded.  They were victims of swatting.

There was a shooting reported Thursday in Bath County that also turned out to be a swatting incident, according to investigators.

State lawmakers in the most recent legislative session passed a bill that the governor signed into law that makes swatting a felony in Kentucky.