Mt. Vernon family ‘swatted’: Difficult-to-trace number submits phony 911 call to elicit police response

A Mt. Vernon family was victim to a swatting incident on July 2 as officers believed they were investigating a potential shooting.

“Swatting” is the act of calling the police to someone’s home under false pretenses, usually as a prank, though Mt. Vernon Chief of Police Dave Hubert does not see any humor in this gag.

“It’s not funny at all,” he said.

In the evening of July 2, the Shea family heard a knock on their door, as detailed in a Facebook post made by Laura Shea. The post states that her husband, Scott Shea, opened the door to police shouting that there has been a homicide.

“I'm watching Toy Story in my PJs when someone starts banging aggressively on our door. It's so loud that it scares me, and I tell my husband not to answer it. After another bang, my husband answers the door, and I hear him talking to someone. The police are there, pointing guns at him, and are yelling at him there's been a homicide,” the post reads.

According to Hubert, a call was placed that stated a girl had been shot inside the Sheas’ home, prompting the police response to an expected homicide.

There was no homicide discovered by the three responding agencies, including the Mt. Vernon Police Department, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri Highway Patrol. An ambulance also arrived at the home.

Investigators chalked it up to a swatting incident, a disturbing phenomenon that has become more common in recent years. No actual SWAT personnel were deployed to deal with the incident.

The call to investigators was determined to be false; the number that placed the call is difficult to trace according to Hubert. The call was placed from a California number and from a phone only permitted to make 911 calls.

“The call came in on a 911 only phone,” said Hubert. “So it's not tied to a name or number… we have not been able to track down the perpetrators.”

These types of incidents are extremely dangerous, noted Hubert as police expect to respond to a dangerous or armed individual.

“They are dangerous because of the response these types of calls elicit. Lights and sirens, removal of the victims from the house, etc.," said Hubert.

This is the first time that the Mt. Vernon Police Department has experienced a swatting incident to Hubert’s knowledge.