Kitsap Sun
POULSBO, Wash — A report that a man had shot his mother and strapped a bomb to his father near Poulsbo on Saturday was a hoax likely intended to harass a popular video game player.
Multiple law enforcement personnel and medics were en route to the residence in the Lemolo area after the 911 call was transferred from King County 911 to Kitsap County Central Communications at about 12:20 p.m.
A man at the house, however, called dispatchers to say his daughter, 22, was the victim of a hoax, and nobody had been shot or injured at the residence.
Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Wilson said the report appeared to be a case of “swatting,” and was a hoax intended to harass the woman at the house. The woman is a well-known video game player, the father told dispatchers, and plays live online games. Perpetrators of “swatting” are watching the gamer play on a live web camera when they make the false report and expect to be able to watch as police raid the residence.
“It seems to be a really bad joke,” Wilson said, noting that police from Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island and Suquamish, along with Poulsbo firefighters, were on their way before being informed it was likely a hoax. Deputies spoke to the people in the residence to make sure they were OK, Wilson said.
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©2015 the KitsapSun (Bremerton, Wash.)