STANDISH — Police believe the tactical teams from six law enforcement agencies that went to a home Sunday evening on Bonny Eagle Road for a report of a shooting responded to a hoax known as “swatting.”
At 7:46 p.m. Sunday, the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center received a call from a man who said he had shot his girlfriend, and that he planned to harm two other people as well, according to a release from Chief Deputy Naldo Gagnon of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies from the sheriff’s office, along with officials from the Gorham and Buxton police departments, Maine State Police, Maine Warden’s Service, Standish Fire and Rescue and the Cumberland County Emergency Services Unit went to the home in question on Bonny Eagle Road and made contact with the residents of the home, who were not aware of any ongoing issues and were not in any harm, according to Gagnon.
The sheriff’s office believes the call was a hoax known as “swatting,” a “new trend where someone calls in a false report which would cause a full-scale tactical response from police agencies.”
The sheriff’s office continues to investigate the incident. Anyone with information should call Detective John Fournier at 774-1444.
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