A phony report of a robbery with gunshots fired — an apparent case of so-called “swatting” — led to an intense but brief law enforcement response at an East County bank Tuesday afternoon.
An unidentified male 911 caller telephoned in the false emergency at the Bank of America branch office in the 3000 block of Lemon Grove Avenue shortly before 2 p.m., according to sheriff’s officials.
Deputies rushed to the bank, surrounded it and called out employees, who told them everything was normal in their workplace, Lt. David Buether said. The patrol personnel gave an all-clear within 15 minutes.
Buether said the incident was under investigation as an apparent case of swatting, a type of criminal harassment intended to needlessly and maliciously send SWAT officers and other heavy police responses to nonexistent critical situations.
—City News Service