"Swatting" David Hogg wasn't a "prank," it was attempted murder

[gollygee]

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-ol-enter-the-fray-swatting-david-hogg-wasn-t-a-prank-1528224230-htmlstory.html

Parkland, Fla., shooting survivor turned anti-gun activist David Hogg avoided another potentially deadly incident Tuesday — after police armed with assault rifles kicked down the door of his family home. Broward County sheriff’s officials were responding to a call that Hogg and his family had been taken hostage by an assailant armed with an AR-15.

(snip to limit to 4 paragraphs)

The teenager was gracious enough to write the incident off as “just a silly prank” — language that was echoed by local police and a number of prominent media outlets.

This was not a prank. A prank is ordering 10 pizzas to someone’s home who didn’t ask for them. Or asking if someone’s refrigerator is running.

If initial reporting about the incident proves accurate, this was attempted murder. (Or, to be more precise, manslaughter)

[malaise]

1. That was my exact thought

This is freaking crazy.

[RandomAccess]

34. Me too

Immediately. Glad others are saying it.

[TheBlackAdder]

42. Dang, SWAT up in NJ have equipment to tell where people are in a house and monitor conversations.

.

I wonder why the SWAT down there is so ill-equiped to properly assess a situation?

.

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. I dont know what to do ...I know time for talk is over. Vote, then ...then

[Aristus]

4. It's a terrible thing to know that there are people out there who can rely on trigger-happy cops

to murder anyone they point the finger at.

Hats off to the S.W.A.T. team for not living up to expectations.

[Blue_true]

22. Did they find anyone home. David and his Mom were in Washington.

Maybe his dad was home at the time, maybe not. If cops with ARs kick a door in, they may smoke the first thing that moves once they are inside the house. Dad could have been asleep, awoke as the cops entered, walked around the corner to take a look and got shot.

[Snackshack]

5. True

There was an incident not long ago where this was done to a guy and he got shot/killed by the LEO responding to the call that turned out to be fake...

[demtenjeep]

35. in my town. We are still divided because of it

but the guy that made the call is on trial. We extradited him from california

[exboyfil]

51. Work on their f----ing training

at a minimum. I still think the shooter should be charged with something like involuntary manslaughter.

[wellst0nev0ter]

6. I like how this article assumes

cops are irresponsible, trigger-happy killers.

[gollygee]

7. It doesn't say that or assume that.

It says that people might get killed if police feel threatened and believe that there's a hostage situation in the house. That doesn't mean they're irresponsible, trigger-happy killers. It is a real threat. Especially since people have indeed been killed when they've been "swatted."

[wellst0nev0ter]

8. You'd think a bunch of professionals

would ascertain whether there was really a hostage situation before going through the shoot first/ask questions later routine.

Hell, you'd think they'd be smart enough to call ahead before kicking down the door.

[gollygee]

10. If someone tells them there's a hostage sitatuation

they take it very seriously and go in with that assumption. Whoever called knew they would.

[wellst0nev0ter]

12. They knew the cops would be dumb enough to do it

and they proved them right yet again.

[B2G]

29. Dumb enought to do what?

Not one shot was fired.

[wellst0nev0ter]

57. Dumb enough to kick in the door

Oh wait, I hear the suburban types like having their doors kicked down by gorilla cops.

[Tarc]

37. You really aren't getting it

The goal of these SWATting trolls, same as the scared white folk who call the cops on the most mundane of black people situations, is to introduce guns into the equation. Things can and do go wrong when there is an armed response to an event, like the guy who was shot in his doorway last year. This what they hope for, the one-in-a-hundred bad outcome.

[wellst0nev0ter]

58. Because they knew cops would be dumb enough to do it

n/t

[Tarc]

59. ...

[riversedge]

17. In any case, someone could have been shot dead. no doubt about that. I hope they catch

the person who called this dangerous hoax in.


.............

That Hogg dismissed his swatting as a prank, of course, isn’t his fault. He’s undoubtedly terrified and just wants this to go away and have it never happen again.

It’s police and the media who need to be more responsible with their language and treat this incident for what it was.

We live in a country where police can and do kill citizens if they feel threatened. Sending police into a home invasion scenario — facing down an AR-15-toting hostage taker — was well calculated to create a justifiable threat. That Hogg has become a lightning rod for controversy — drawing the ire of pro-gun activists in particular — only made the threat more plausible.

Whoever swatted Hogg more than likely knew police could inadvertently shoot and possibly kill the teenage school shooting survivor or a member of his family. We need to treat this reality with the gravity it demands.

[True Blue American]

49. A year ago

A Spectrum tech was installing my phone.

Some how he managed to dial 911 I had a call back asking if I had called 911. I was in another room so did know know. He went outside.

Next thing I knew 2 Police were at my door ,asking who that man was. I explained, they politely asked if they could go through my house. I told them,of course.

But I live in a small city with a great Police Force.

[tenderfoot]

26. Gee, why would anyone assume that?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/13/us/police-no-charges-swatting-death/index.html

[RandySF]

9. Law enforcement takes this shit seriously

They WILL find who did it.

[spike jones]

11. Don't the police have the ability

to trace the 911 calls?

[wellst0nev0ter]

14. If the swatters are smart enough

They'd spoof phone numbers

[spike jones]

15. I'm going to act like I know what that means

[Kittycow]

20. They have a fake phone number showing in the caller ID somehow.

[Blue_true]

23. Cellphones have an IP address.

I wonder if a call made from a smartphone has the IP address attached to it in the myriad of information that gets sent out with the call?

[Lee-Lee]

46. Lots of ways around that

There are computer programs and apps that let you take the caller ID data- that’s how all the spam calls come to you from numbers nowhere near where they are, or how now they even use your number.

Or someone can just buy a prepaid phone. The ease that one can buy a phone and airtime for cash with no registration to a person is a huge way criminals evade police. You can walk into Walmart with $30 and walk out with a prepaid phone and minimal airtime for it. Or just an android phone, download a free calling app and make calls anywhere you have WiFi. Then find a place with free WiFi and no cameras and make your call. Then chuck the phone in a dumpster. No way to trace it unless LE gets lucky and catches a witness or a camera you didn’t know was there.

[CakeGrrl]

13. Hogg may have downplayed it

But I'd bet his family has a serious investigation going, and it should be an attempted murder charge.

The point of the call is to make sure the police go to the "suspect"'s location prepared to move against someone they think is armed and life-threatening.

[BigmanPigman]

28. His dad is ex FBI

so he should be able to get some info as to who called it in.

[Pepsidog]

16. Only cowards would do something like this. Shameful

[ProudLib72]

18. I'm putting $50 on the "prankster" being a Rump supporter

I have to tell you, no one seems to be taking my bets lately.

[gollygee]

19. Another $50 on it being an NRA member. nt

[certainot]

36. and prob a talk radio listener - the talk radio blowhards are attacking hogg regularly - here's egs

from a radio station that not only broadcasts uni of NM lobos games, it plays recruiting ads for the uni. in a recent limbaugh show they played 2 UNM ads and one for the university of california - so they're sponsoring attack on hogg and the parkland activists

i recorded parts of those shows with quicktime, on any mac, and then got them transcribed for $5/hr at sonix.ai which uses artificial intelligence for much faster and accurate transcription than just last year. not only did i not have to listen to it, but i could search for any topic like this, and for "dot", as in x company dot com to find and list most all advertisers

here's limbaugh on the Parkland activists:

How has this happened? You turn on "Camera (David) Hogg" or any of these other people and they sound like Chuck Schumer, they sound like a Hollywood actor. They sound like... how does this happen? There're 17.... At age 17 and they've got their talking points down, their arguments down, their characterizations of their enemy no different than people three times their age. What do you think is really happening here? We're talking about robots, mind numbed robots. Armies of bots....

It was a bunch of young skulls full of mush marching for things they don't understand led by paid for by a bunch of Democrat activists...

What I know is the American left, the world wide left, what their dream is the confiscation of every weapon.

Here's a caller to the local blowhard's show after limbaugh, pat frisch at KKOB in Albuquerque, after he starts his show asking his audience if they agree if david hogg is a "punk"

caller, joe:

....this is what Obama created. Obama squeezed his butt cheeks and outcomes Hogg's. So we have a piece of crap from Obama dictating to me dictating to me that you know you don't get the right to have a rifle.

And I guarantee you if they keep pushing this and they come after the guns there's going to be a civil war. Mr. Hogg little boy is a mouthpiece for the nasty demonic Democratic Party is going to spew his crap until he ends up a repercussion of a civil war.

Because if they keep on with it they're going to get that. That's what's coming.

:

All right Joe thanks for the phone call. I appreciate it. So apparently Joe actually agrees that I called David Hogg a punk.

more from frisch at 770 kkob:
pat frisch:

And then he did a fist pump like this did you see that?

:

Was he Hitler? Did you see that thoughwhen he went like that like that at the end of it? I mean was that a sign for or was it a pose from like you know, saturday night fever or something. I don't know but I'm curious what was that all about. (gives the station call in number)5052433333. By the way he was funded by Soros and the Giffords group out of Tucson the woman that got shot the former congresswoman By the way Delta Airlines gave free plane rides back and forth to people from Florida that wanted to go up to be part of the protests and of course Delta we know canceled donations to the NRA and now they flew three plane loads of people up free to D.C. from Florida and back over the weekend.

:

And of course if you think Hogg is a goody two shoes let's recall this profanity laced interview that he did last week.

and so on - rw radio's been doing this crap for weeks, and to others for 3 decades.

[Hekate]

21. Horrifying

[Akacia]

24. Disgusting!

That is so screwed up on so many levels.

[brettdale]

25. agreed

Its like the guy at that Trump rally, who saw a protester, and yelled "Hes got a gun"

I hope people like this start to get prosecuted.

[MustLoveBeagles]

27. Disgusting

Whoever did this is a coward.

[Hoyt]

30. White wing gunners are killers, intimidators.

[Initech]

31. This is so fucking scary, and not only that, it was intentional.

The NRAholes were intentionally trying to get him killed. This is so fucked up I don't know where to begin.

[47of74]

32. This needs to be a felony and if it results in an innocent getting killed punishable by death.

I'm to the point where I think some things should be punishable by death, and this is one of them.

[Initech]

41. This one definitely needs to be made an example of.

It was intentional, pre meditated and extremely hostile. These assholes need to be caught and punished severely. No fucking around.

[montana_hazeleyes]

33. What a despicable thing to do.

I hope they find the person who did this and they get the punishment they really deserve.

[raven mad]

38. Make false reports a felony.

Even if you're POTUS..............

[KY_EnviroGuy]

39. News a little closer to David's home...

SWAT swarms Parkland teen's home on hoax call. He was in D.C., receiving human rights award
By Charles Rabin And Alex Daugherty
June 05, 2018 11:36 AM
Link: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article212559414.html

The Sun Sentinel in his home county has yet to post an article, but I found this one interesting (from a search):

Coconut Creek cop gets 5-day suspension after Facebook attack on David Hogg
May 29, 2018
Link: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-sb-cop-creek-david-hogg-facebook-20180529-story.html

............

[KY_EnviroGuy]

40. Gollygee, here's another local TV report with more info...

Home of teen activist David Hogg pranked with false SWAT call

Link: https://wsvn.com/news/local/home-of-teen-activist-david-hogg-swatted-after-prank-hostage-situation-call/

(snips)

According to BSO, deputies received a call at around 8:30 a.m., saying someone broke into Hogg’s home with an AR-15 rifle and was holding the family hostage. Deputies determined that no one was home at the time and that the call was unfounded. A dispatcher said in a call, “Also, I received an additional call from someone named Tyreek. He advised he is 10-97 inside of the home … advised he stabbed one male in the neck. Patient approximately 18 to 20 years of age.”
------------

Three schools were locked down as a result of the prank call, including Stoneman Douglas. The Broward Sheriff’s Office said they plan to investigate and arrest the person behind the call.

I wonder if this was done to distract from David's award presentation in D.C. If so, it was a failure because it actually brought more attention to the award.

------------

[Cha]

43. It Sure as SHITE was.

Thank you, gollygee

[Rhiannon12866]

44. Follow up from Daily KOS: David Hogg's swatting may have started on 4chan

By now, most of you have seen that some bottom-feeders got the bright idea to swat David Hogg at his home in Parkland, Florida. We may have narrowly averted another tragedy; at the time, Hogg and several of his now-former MSD classmates were in Washington to accept the RFK Human Rights Award.

Link to tweet

Well, we may have an idea how this outrageous and criminal stunt started—the “asshole of the Internet,” 4chan, and its bastard child, 8chan.

While digging into this at RDTDaily, I discovered that the folks at Media Matters dug up a thread on /pol/ in which someone posted Hogg’s address and phone number as a “graduation present.” Someone with a conscience deleted that thread. No problem—the bottom-feeders simply kept it up at 8chan.

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/5/1769711/-David-Hogg-s-swatting-may-have-started-on-4chan

[malaise]

45. Why isn't this getting more coverage?

[GarColga]

47. The day before this happened

Hogg was doxxed on 4chan and 8chan.

https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/06/05/day-parkland-survivor-david-hogg-got-swatted-trolls-shared-his-address-4chan-and-8chan/220382

[hurple]

48. My 17 year old daughter was "swatted" recently

By an ex.

It is not a joke, or funny, or anything less than horrifying.

In her case it was *just* calling in saying that she was a suicide attempt. We happened to hear the call for teh police to come to the house because we have a scanner. At the time the call went out, she was, and had been for awhile, sitting with me, her mom, and her sister playing with her sister's newborn.

We heard our address and her name on the call and all turned to her. She looked back and just said, "What?"

It took nearly an hour to convince the officers that she was not a danger to herself and didn't need to be taken away for her safety that night.

[exboyfil]

52. Was the ex prosecuted?

[hurple]

55. dunno

As they were leaving, the po-po told us he would be following up.

And that's the last we've heard.

[ck4829]

50. Kick

[WillowTree]

53. Are there other stories about the incident that say the door was kicked in?

I looked around and this is the only one that says it was.

The police obviously had to go out and investigate, but I'd really be surprised if they kicked the door in unless there was something on site that indicated that that was necessary.

[Lee-Lee]

56. I'm really surprised his address was not flagged in the dispatch system

Even 20 years ago in a much poorer area we had alerted set up on homes of people that had violent histories. Where there were known people with mental health concerns like autism (only if a family notified us or based on knowledge from a prior call), victims of domestic violence still in danger and for people like him high-profile people who may be subject to being targeted for harassment or violence. For example we had several high profile civil rights activists in the county flagged because it was possible they would be targets.

That meant when a call to that address came in we had some idea who was there and that it could be a prank or harassment or targeted violence.

[DFW]

54. That is what I said immediately

I think it was on Raw Story, and I said flat out it was attempted murder by Republicans. Some angry jerk-off replied in Republicanese (he was constantly using an apostrophe to form a plural) that no, "republican's" would never do that, and it must have been Democrats that did it.

So I welcomed him the United States, told him that for an immigrant, his English wasn't half bad, but no matter what country he came from, he needed to learn that in the USA, we mostly use English, and English doesn't use an apostrophe to for a plural. I told him that he'd get the hang of it when he had spent more than a few months in the USA. His angry replies ceased. I think being called an immigrant with flawed English must have raised his blood pressure beyond the breaking point, and he hasn't been let back out of the cardiac ward yet.