Mayfield Heights Police are investigating a recent swatting incident in the city.
Swatting is the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers, such as SWAT members, to a particular address.
According to the dispatch log, at 9:39 p.m. Nov. 2, a caller contacted the department claiming to have shot his mother in the living room of a Mayfield Heights home. The caller said he would burn the house down if anyone came to the door and that his mother was dead.
Later in the call, the caller said he was going to stab his brother and that his brother was dead in the bedroom.
According to the log, shortly after, the caller admitted he was part of group that makes prank swat calls. As the police attempted to knock on the door of the home and make contact, the caller played sounds of shooting.
Contact was made with a retired couple who was home alone in the house. By 10:57 p.m., all units were clear.
“The incident is still under investigation so the report is not available for release at this time,” Mayfield Heights Police Chief Anthony Mele said. “We’re still trying to determine how and why this particular address was targeted. The residents that live there are an elderly couple who live by themselves.
“Typically when we have this type of incident, there is a motive as to why the address was selected,” Mele added. “In this case, there’s no apparent motive, but our department is continuing to investigate the incident.”
Reports suggest the call originated out of the country.
