Plainfield 'Swatting' Hoax Draws Dozens Of Officers
WBBM's Steve Miller
(CBS) -- Plainfield police are trying to find whoever's responsible for wasting the time and resources of authorities Sunday night in a "swatting" incident.
The call came in to 9-1-1 and the caller claimed to have kidnapped and tied up a child. The caller claimed the child would be harmed unless a ransom was dropped off at a home in Plainfield.
Plainfield Police Detective Sgt. Kevin McQuaid says officers responded and evacuated residents nearby.
"We had seven different agencies out there. We had upwards of probably about 50 officers," he tells WBBM's Steve Miller.
After about four hours, McQuaid says police determined the whole thing was a hoax – and also a waste of thousands of dollars.
Authorities are trying to trace the 9-1-1 call.
"Swatting" is happening more often, McQuaid says. The last time it happened to Plainfield authorities, he says, the call originated in California.
