The Middleton Police Department was forced to search an entire apartment complex Saturday after receiving a tip about a hostage situation they later discovered was a prank call made by two middle schoolers.
Police received a phone call Saturday night from an individual who claimed they were being held hostage in the complex by an armed suspect. Middleton Police and Dane County Sheriff’s deputies searched the entire complex, but found nothing indicating there was anybody being held hostage there.
While responding, officers saw two boys, ages 12 and 13, who they recognized from previous incidents, leaving the area on foot. When police later contacted the boys at their residences, they admitted to making the call as a prank.
Middleton police referred to the call as a “swatting” prank, in which someone falsely reports a serious crime to police in order to draw a large police presence to an area. Swatting is most commonly used by players of online video games, who hope to get opponents arrested. A swatting call in Kansas last December resulted in one uninvolved man’s death after he was shot by police. The suspect in that case will serve between 20 and 25 years in prison for his involvement.
Middleton police plan to forward charges against the boy who made the call to the Dane County District Attorney’s office.
