Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LA CRESCENTA - Two teens playing video games were briefly detained after exiting a home where someone reported a shooting Saturday night, but the call was likely a prank.
A caller stated he shot two people inside a home in the 4000 block of La Crescenta Avenue and he threatened to shoot his aunt around 8:52 p.m., according to Lt. Lopez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crescenta Valley Station. Deputies surrounded the home and, with the help of a helicopter, ordered the occupants to exit. A 17 and 18-year-old exited the home and were briefly detained while deputies searched their home, but nothing was found, Lopez said. Deputies quickly realized the teens may have been swatted. Swatting is a phenomena where a prankster deceives emergency responders by reporting a false emergency, driving law enforcement to a targeted home. The unknown caller phoned the prank to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s business number and not through 9-1-1, making tracing of the call rather difficult, Lopez said. |