Kirbyville family endangered by false crime report

On Friday, March 18, someone endangered a resident of Taney County and their family by conducting a crime called “swatting.”

Friday afternoon, local social media groups began buzzing with reports about a large number of Taney County Sheriff’s vehicles which were in front of a home in Kirbyville.

Scanner reports stated a man called 911 claiming had shot his wife and barricaded himself at the location. After deputies arrived and secured the scene, they discovered that no shooting had taken place. Taney County officials confirmed to the Branson Tri-Lakes News the response from the Taney County Sheriff’s office to the home was swatting. 

Swatting is calling a police department or 911 to report a non-existent emergency situation that results in a callout of a department’s SWAT team or multiple officers. The action is usually taken either as a prank or as a form of revenge for a perceived online slight.

Investigators discovered  one of the residents of the home had an online incident with someone involving the game Minecraft, and that person had made a false call to Taney County emergency services. Investigators are working with other law enforcement agencies to obtain evidence against the swatter.

Taney County Sheriff Brad Daniels told the Branson Tri-Lakes News swatting is very dangerous for everyone involved, from officers who are responding to what they believe to be an extreme situation, to the victims of the swatting who do not know what is suddenly happening to them. The full story can be read at bransontrilakesnews.com.