Eden Police Department News Release • May 11, 2023
(Eden, NC) – On Wednesday May 11, 2023 at approximately 8:24 P.M. Rockingham County Communications received a call from a subject who stated he had shot his mother and stabbed his younger sister. He went on to advise his name was Alex and he was located at 710 Westwood Dr. As officers were being dispatched the subject said he had barricaded himself inside the residence and intended to shoot police officers if they knocked on the door. Patrol Officers responded to the area, secured the perimeter and began evacuating neighbors. As the investigation evolved it was discovered that the residence of 710 Westwood Dr. was unoccupied. The residents of 710 Westwood Dr. were located at an address just outside the city. They were found to be safe and unaware of the incident that was unfolding at their home. However, they were actively filming a Tik Tok live video at the time the calls began coming in. As the investigation progressed, the Eden Police Department feels confident this was a “swatting” hoax (Swatting is a term used to describe the action of making hoax phone calls to report serious crimes to emergency services. People who carry out a swatting prank call aim to fool emergency services into sending a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to respond to the supposed emergency).
During the past two weeks, there have been several of these incidents reported across the country. This is an active and ongoing investigation as investigators continue to work to identify the perpetrators of this crime.
Swatting is the action of making a false report of a serious emergency so that a SWAT team (= a group of officers trained to deal with dangerous situations) will go to a person’s home, by someone who wants to frighten, upset, or cause problems for that person:
source: dictionary.cambridge.org
Anyone having information concerning this incident is asked to contact Lieutenant Andrew Kenyi at 336-623-9755 (24hr), 336-623-9240 8am-4pm. Anyone wishing to provide information and remain anonymous is asked to call Rockingham County Crimestoppers at 336-349-9683.
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