According to Nathan Elledge, the Sammamish Police Department's chief of police, they were told that the executive wanted $20,000 to release the family that he was apparently holding hostage inside the home. The police rushed to the scene complete with sheriff's office helicopter flying overhead as a SWAT team was put on standby.
The only thing found at the scene was a very confused sleeping family. It took roughly an hour for the situation to be resolved with the authorities coming to the conclusion that yet another swatting incident had taken place.
Detectives later determined the call didn't come from inside the house, as first thought, but instead was generated by a network of computers. Police call it "swatting," where officers are sent on a phony emergency, often because someone is able to trick dispatchers into thinking an emergency call is coming from somewhere else.
This summer, police were fooled into thinking a young man in Lake Stevens had shot his father. Around the same time, Redmond officers swarmed a middle school after a caller phoned in a fake threat.
"They haven't been able to unravel the knot of where it comes back to," said Deputy Jason Houck with the King County Sheriff's Office of Thursday's call. "They were able to tell there were no bombs in the yard, no one with a rifle holding the family hostage."
Officers eventually reached the homeowner, who came out in his bathrobe, Houck said.
"He seemed very confused at what was going on," Houck added.
A Bungie spokeswoman said the victim is okay and didn't want to discuss the incident.
This summer, police were fooled into thinking a young man in Lake Stevens had shot his father. Around the same time, Redmond officers swarmed a middle school after a caller phoned in a fake threat.
"They haven't been able to unravel the knot of where it comes back to," said Deputy Jason Houck with the King County Sheriff's Office of Thursday's call. "They were able to tell there were no bombs in the yard, no one with a rifle holding the family hostage."
Officers eventually reached the homeowner, who came out in his bathrobe, Houck said.
"He seemed very confused at what was going on," Houck added.
A Bungie spokeswoman said the victim is okay and didn't want to discuss the incident.
According to KOMO News, detectives believe that the person who called in the false report "has ties to the gaming community." If caught, the caller faces up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine.
