The Alexandria Police Department swarmed an Old Town home Sunday after getting a prank call that a 15-year-old male was tired of his parents, was armed with his father’s AR-15 rifle and was going to kill them and himself.
Police received the emergency call from a private number at around 11:30 a.m., and a dispatcher reported that the voice making the call was panting, as if they were out of breath. The caller also allegedly told police that there were a total of four people in the home and that he would shoot any police that approached, according to APD dispatches.
The home is located in the 200 block of Buchanan Street, which is near Old Town Pool and the King St-Old Town Metro station. Police blocked off all street access, as well as pedestrian traffic on a nearby trail.
At 12:13 p.m., APD notified the public that a moderate police presence was in the area due to a subject experiencing a “mental health crisis.”
Two minutes later, at 12:15 p.m., with APD officers standing by with ballistics shields and a K9 officer, contact with the renter of the home was made, according to scanner traffic. The renter told police that no one was in the residence and that she and her boyfriend don’t own guns.
Police entered the home at 12:53 p.m. and the all-clear was given.
Northern Virginia has gotten its fair share of swatting calls over the years. Falsely summoning law enforcement is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine.
Anyone with information on this incident call call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence in the 200 block of Buchanan Street, this is in response to a subject in a mental health crisis. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/F8QasgqnaQ
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) June 11, 2023
Image via Google Maps
