Hoag Hospital shooting false alarm? Cops respond to ‘emergency’, turns out to be ‘swatting’ call
The Newport Beach Police Department stated that officers were dispatched to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach following a report of gunfire.
Newport Beach Police on Tuesday, October 7, responded to an alleged “shooting” and reports of an active shooter at the Hoag Hospital, but upon arrival, they found no sign of any emergency. The police are now probing if the 911 emergency was “swatting” call.
The Newport Beach Police department said in a statement that the cops swept through the Hoag Hospital but found no evidence of an active shootout.
The Newport Beach Police Department stated that officers were dispatched to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach following a report of gunfire.
The department said that the “officers arrived promptly and conducted a thorough search of the facility. It was determined that the report of a shooter was unfounded and part of a ‘swatting’ incident.”
This incident prompted the cops to put out an alert regarding swatting calls. Also Read | Fatal shooting of Indian student Chandrashekar Pole: Suspect Richard Florez arrested in Texas; gun found inside car
“Swatting calls are illegal, dangerous and disruptive,” Newport Beach Police said in a post on X. “We take these incidents seriously and will continue working with our regional law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”
What is swatting?
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ‘swatting’ is defined as a “malicious act that can involve placing false emergency calls to emergency responders, often reporting a (false) severe, ongoing crisis at a specific location.”
“The goat of ‘swatting’ is to provoke a significant law enforcement response, create chaos and potentially in violence.”