Here in Southern California, first responders are already stretched thin.
And slowing them down to real emergencies involving you and your loved ones is a surge of fake calls to 911.
It’s called swatting, and as 7 On Your Side Investigates is learning, these prank calls are causing real problems not just for police, but for everyone from celebrities to high school students.
The term “swatting” is a play off of “SWAT.”
And that’s because the goal is to trick police into thinking something so serious is unfolding, they need the tactical gear and to respond in force.
But for those on the other end of these calls, there’s nothing funny about this.
Law enforcement agencies across Southern California are seeing a surge in swatting calls. ABC7 reporter Kevin Ozebek dives into what police are doing to stop them and the impact on real families.
Sabrina Wong is a student at Blair High School in Pasadena.
She’ll never forget when she had to huddle in her theatre classroom as armed police started to swarm the campus.
“My teacher told us, ‘I love you guys so much, and if anything where to happen I want you to just run and don’t worry about me. I love you guys so much,'” said Sabrina.
On the morning of Sept. 12, 2025, Sabrina says she knew something wasn’t right when teachers started to panic and she could hear a parade of police sirens getting louder.
A report of shots fired at Blair High School in Pasadena sparked fear among students and parents Friday, but police said it appeared to be a hoax.
“It was really scary to have to be like, where would I go? Do I run or do I stay?” Sabrina told 7 On Your Side.
Sabrina texted her parents that Blair High School was in lockdown, and of course her parents panicked.
“Your mind rushes to the worst case scenario,” said Sabrina’s father, Gerald Wong.
“Am I now the next statistic? Am I going to lose my child today?,” worried her mohter Lauren Wong.
The Wongs are family friends with ABC7 Anchor Phillip Palmer, who they all texted after Sabrina alerted them of the lockdown.
“I texted our friend Phil Palmer. And right away, he’s like, we have a helicopter going over there. ABC was on the spot,” said Gerald.
As Eyewitness News reported on that day, there were reports of seven shots fired at the school. But no trigger was ever pulled.
Instead, it was a swatting call.
Our Phillip Palmer delivered the news this was a hoax to our viewers, and directly texted a terrified Sabrina.
“I had contact with my Uncle Phil, and 20 to 30 minutes in he said that this is a swatting,” said Sabrina.
In just the past few months swatting calls have forced police to rush to Carter High School in Rialto, Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, and even Gordon Ramsey’s Bel Air home.
LAPD Deputy Chief David Kowalski calls swatting a form of “digital terrorism.” Kowalski says the calls often come from encrypted phone calls and are incredibly hard to investigate.
Last year alone, at least 59 false emergencies were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department.
In just the first six months of 2025, 72 L.A. County Sheriff Incident Reports mention the word “swatting.”
“What we’re finding is many of these suspects are generally under 18-years-old,” Kowalski told Eyewitness News. “We’re seeing juveniles from all over the world targeting these institutions, these homes, these celebrities.”
And they’re now targeting schools with haunting consequences.
“If the actual one happens, are people going to react the way that they really should? Because there have been all of these people that have, you know, been crying wolf,” said Lauren.
Even though it is often very difficult to trace a swatting call, sometimes detectives can.
Pasadena police were able to identify and arrest a juvenile for making that swatting call to Blair High School.
The LAPD tells us their dispatchers are being trained to spot signs that a call is a swatting, but even if there are some signs, they still have to send at least some officers to investigate.
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