They’re both month-old cases, apparently, which are just coming to light now, at about the same time.

The news about the prosecutor comes in a story about the sentencing of a SWATter:

A 22-year-old Athol man was sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison Tuesday on charges he made hoax emergency phone calls to law enforcement across the country claiming he was an armed fugitive holding hostages.

This is the second time Nathan Hanshaw has been sentenced for the practice known as “swatting.” It was revealed in court proceedings in U.S. District Court in Worcester that Mr. Hanshaw was sentenced to 11 months in prison for the same activity while he was a juvenile.

Apparently, this SWATter is helping the government find the person who SWATted the Swartz prosecutor:

Mr. Hanshaw has already helped the government by testifying in one case involving software used to conduct “swatting” calls. He is also helping officials investigating a “swatting” call received by a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts.

According to Mr. Bookbinder, that prosecutor was involved in the case against Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide in January while he awaited trial on charges he illegally downloaded millions of academic articles by using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s computer network.

Mr. Hanshaw’s cooperation was one of the reasons the defense and prosecution agreed to a 30-month sentence.

Note to the geniuses in California who want this to be a misdemeanor unless someone is actually hurt: an 11-month sentence did not deter this guy from repeating his offense.

The exact identity of the prosecutor is not clear.

Meanwhile, we’re also learning that a Los Angeles City Council member was SWATted after trying to do something about SWATting:

Councilman Paul Koretz said he was targeted himself in April, after he asked the city to take action against swatting perpetrators. On April 10, he told the council, multiple police with guns drawn pounded on his front door demanding to be let in just as Koretz prepared to step into the shower.

“I held up my council badge and said, ‘Sorry, I’m not letting you in while I’m naked,'” Koretz said.

They insisted, so he got dressed and the police looked around and then left. But they returned a few minutes later, Koretz said, after receiving a second call that someone in his apartment was being held hostage in a closet.

“At that point, I called [Police Chief] Charlie Beck and said ‘Could you please ask your officers to leave?'” Koretz said.

Isn’t it nice that he has that relationship with the Chief that he can do that.

So prosecutors and city councilmen are victims, and nobody seems to be able to do anything. Lovely.

At least they didn’t get hit with a frivolous RICO suit by a violent convicted criminal for talking honestly about their experiences . . .

The roll call of the SWATted: an unnamed Aaron Swartz prosecutor; L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz; Corey Feldman; Paris Hilton (again); Miley Cyrus (again); Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom; Anderson Cooper; Magic Johnson; Mike Rogers; Wolf Blitzer; Ted Lieu; Erik Rush; Ryan Seacrest; Russell Brand; Selena Gomez; Justin Timberlake; Rihanna; Sean Combs; Paris Hilton; Brian Krebs; Clint Eastwood; Chris Brown; the Jenners and Kardashians; Tom Cruise; Simon Cowell; Justin Bieber; Ashton Kutcher; Miley Cyrus; Aaron Walker; Erick Erickson; Mike Stack; and me.

My usual admiration for the way TMZ gets these stories every time is negated by their sniggering. I don’t even feel like throwing them a link. You can Google it.

The headline of their post? “COREY FELDMAN SWATTED … But It’s Kinda Funny.”

Yeah. A real laugh riot:

Corey Feldman’s pad got swatted last night — and TMZ has slightly scary (yet hilarious) footage of a bath-robed Corey and one of his “angels” getting the shake-down from cops.

Law enforcement sources tell us LAPD got a call of unknown trouble at Feldman’s house — which he’s douchily dubbed the Feldmansion — and responded around 2 AM with multiple cruisers and a chopper.

Corey quickly came out of the house with his arms raised, and got frisked by cops. In typical Feldman-fashion … he had not one, but TWO female companions in lingerie … who were also frisked.

TMZ has dramatic footage of Feldman and one of the women coming out with their hands up and being frisked while a helicopter is heard overhead. It’s not embeddable, which relieves me of the burden of deciding whether to embed it or not. It’s an invasion of privacy, but it also gives the viewer a small glimpse of what the experience is like. Although I am angry at TMZ, some of you may find it worth your while to seek out the TMZ post to see this footage — if only because it helps bring home, in a small way, the reality of these SWATtings.

TMZ calls the footage “hilarious.” I find that description not only callous but entirely inaccurate. But maybe it’s different for me, given my own experience. When I watched the clip, I got flashbacks. My heart started racing as I literally felt the adrenalin flow. I don’t see how anyone can watch this, imagine the events that preceded it, and find it “hilarious.”

The updated and noncomprehensive roll call of the SWATted: Corey Feldman; Paris Hilton (again); Miley Cyrus (again); Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom; Anderson Cooper; Magic Johnson; Mike Rogers; Wolf Blitzer; Ted Lieu; Erik Rush; Ryan Seacrest; Russell Brand; Selena Gomez; Justin Timberlake; Rihanna; Sean Combs; Paris Hilton; Brian Krebs; Clint Eastwood; Chris Brown; the Jenners and Kardashians; Tom Cruise; Simon Cowell; Justin Bieber; Ashton Kutcher; Miley Cyrus; Aaron Walker; Erick Erickson; Mike Stack; and me.

Whoever was doing this was quiet for a while, but they seem to have awakened.

P.S. I meant to report this soon after it happened, but I have been utterly slammed at work. I think things may remain that way for a week or two.

The Friday Night Celebrity SWATting has become so common as to be almost expected. Last night’s was different, though, in that it involved a repeat victim:

Miley Cyrus had already fallen victim to swatting but now the star has been unfortunate enough to have to go through the ordeal for a second time.

According to TMZ, the 20-year-old singer and actress was swatted once again on Friday night when police received a 911 call from a female claiming to be calling from her closet and reporting shots fired in her home.

Authorities arrived and quickly determined that the call was not real.

I’ll update with the roll call of the SWATted later.

UPDATE: The roll call of the SWATted: Miley Cyrus (again); Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom; Anderson Cooper; Magic Johnson; Mike Rogers; Wolf Blitzer; Ted Lieu; Erik Rush; Ryan Seacrest; Russell Brand; Selena Gomez; Justin Timberlake; Rihanna; Sean Combs; Chris Brown; Tom Cruise; Paris Hilton; Clint Eastwood; Brian Krebs; the Jenners and Kardashians; Justin Bieber; Miley Cyrus; Ashton Kutcher; Simon Cowell; Aaron Walker; Erick Erickson; Mike Stack; and me.

It’s another Friday celebrity SWATting. As usual, TMZ has the story first:

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom were just swatted … TMZ has learned … and this one was dramatic, with cops racing to the scene with guns drawn.

Sources tell TMZ … 911 dispatch received a call claiming Lamar and a friend were arguing inside his home, and the friend shot the bballer.

When cops arrived … they found Lamar at home alone and he was unharmed.

An eyewitness on scene tells TMZ … this was a full police response.

Here is the (partial) roll call of the SWATted: Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom; Anderson Cooper; Magic Johnson; Mike Rogers; Wolf Blitzer; Ted Lieu; Erik Rush; Ryan Seacrest; Russell Brand; Selena Gomez; Justin Timberlake; Rihanna; Sean Combs; Chris Brown; Tom Cruise; Paris Hilton; Clint Eastwood; Brian Krebs; the Jenners and Kardashians; Justin Bieber; Miley Cyrus; Ashton Kutcher; Simon Cowell; Aaron Walker; Erick Erickson; Mike Stack; and me.

TMZ:

Magic Johnson has just been swatted … but this one is RADICALLY different from all the others … because the LAPD is clearly hip to the prank now … TMZ has learned.

Someone placed the electronic 911 call within the last hour … claiming multiple shots were fired at Magic’s L.A. home. We’re also told the caller claimed the shooters were holding someone hostage.

As for the LAPD’s response … it was anemic compared to prior 911 incidents. We’re told only a few patrol cars responded. There were no choppers, no SWAT team, no guns-drawn maneuver.

I’ll update with the new roll call of the SWATted next week.

I thought they weren’t publicizing these any more.

UPDATE with the roll call of the SWATted: Magic Johnson; Mike Rogers; Wolf Blitzer; Ted Lieu; Erik Rush; Ryan Seacrest; Russell Brand; Selena Gomez; Justin Timberlake; Rihanna; Sean Combs; Chris Brown; Tom Cruise; Paris Hilton; Clint Eastwood; Brian Krebs; the Jenners and Kardashians; Justin Bieber; Miley Cyrus; Ashton Kutcher; Simon Cowell; Aaron Walker; Erick Erickson; Mike Stack; and me.

“Mike Rogers (former FBI) called for [Bradley] Manning’s execution and he’s from MI-08 . . . we want [Anthony Weiner’s replacement Mike] Grimm, Rogers out /w Anon boot print on their asses . . .”

— Neal Rauhauser

Congressman Mike Rogers was SWATted Saturday night:

Police surrounded the Michigan home of Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) Saturday night after a prank 911 phone call, Rogers’ office confirmed to TPM Sunday.

“Last night police investigated a threat to our home in Howell,” Rogers said in a statement emailed to TPM Sunday. “I appreciate the quick and professional response of the Howell Police Department and the Livingston County Sheriff. While this turned out to be an unfortunate prank, it is a reminder of the the real threats faced by our law enforcement community every day.”

The prank, according to a Rogers spokesperson, was a fake 911 call in which someone claimed to be the congressman.

Rogers is a co-sponsor of CISPA, a bill that has angered many people in Anonymous.

But there is another interesting fact about Rogers that is less well known: he was targeted by Neal Rauhauser. Rauhauser, speaking to Barrett Brown in an Internet Relay Chat as “Carlito2000,” said the following to Brown:

[14:11] Stranahan is a dopey former liberal porn guy scam artist who also worked on the movie
[14:12] jesus
[14:12] Keep in mind Grimm (former FBI) is going down in NY-11, Mike Rogers (former FBI) called for Manning’s execution and he’s from MI-08
[14:12] and Coleen Rowley in MN-02 is former FBI turned whistleblower
[14:12] so, what’s the specific evidence of Darby being involved in Swating, and we’re talking about PAtrick Frey SWAT correct?
[14:12] we want Grimm, Rogers out /w Anon boot print on their asses, and we push Rowley in 🙂

But do we know that “Carlito2000” is really Neal Rauhauser?

Yes, we do. We know it from his own mouth. He made the admission in a leaked recording of a phone conversation between Rauhauser and Kelly Hallissey. Click here and scroll ahead to 18:00, and this is what you will hear Rauhauser saying:

Rauhauser: The log that was published, the #3 of him talking to Pat Frey? There’s an IRC exchange with someone named Carlito2000?

Hallissey: Uh-huh.

Rauhauser: And he publishes actual logs but he changes the names. That was me, that was that night, that was on 2600.

So you have Rauhauser admitting that he talked to Barrett Brown, saying that he wanted two Congressman — Anthony Weiner’s replacement Mike Grimm, and Michigan congressman Mike Rogers — out of office “w/ Anon boot print on their asses.”

Anonymous, it need hardly be added, is generally thought to be behind most SWATtings in the country.

The chat above, where Rauhauser as “Carlito2000” tells Brown that Rogers called for Bradley Manning’s execution, is not the first time that Rauhauser has waved that particular red flag in front of Anonymous. Three weeks after I was SWATted, Rauhauser tried to incite Anonymous against me in a similar fashion on Daily Kos — in a post that mentioned me prominently:

Breitbart’s Big Government, where Patterico is a contributor, is nothing but the same sort of trouble we see with News Corp. Deception, intrusion, and intimidation when caught are the order of the day for them. They do this on behalf of the neo-fascist American right.

One of the politicians supported by this group is Mike Rogers, the Congressman from Michigan’s 8th District. This guy has an interesting past, quitting his job with the FBI just six months short of vesting. Curious, eh?

Rogers was John Boehner’s choice to head the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee. They’re supposed to be doing stuff like watching over the NSA so they don’t waste a billion dollars on a three million dollar problem and get all up in our civil liberties while also failing to stop the 9/11 attack. Instead, Rogers crows about this oversight (after the fact) committee’s work to find and kill bin Laden – more pure fabrication – finding him is President Obama’s success.

And it’s not just bin Laden that Rogers wants dead; he’s publicly called for the execution of Bradley Manning.

So while Anonymiss and I are busy figuring out how to get these guys matching sets of handcuffs, they go out and make fools of themselves trying to get the boys to attack us on behalf of a political faction that’s calling for the execution of a man that parts of Anonymous are determined to free?

Who here would like to offer a prediction as to how this set of maneuvers will turn out for Mr. Frey? And will the wrath flow back and hit @AndrewBreitbart, getting Big Government torn to shreds by an aroused hive just like The Sun was?

Then you have the rampant evidence of the hostility that Rauhauser and/or his friends have shown to five other SWATting victims besides Rep. Rogers. Here are the names of the SWATting victims and the dates of our SWATting incidents:

• Mike Stack, June 23, 2011

• Patrick Frey, July 1, 2011

• Erick Erickson, May 27, 2012

• Aaron Walker, June 25, 2012

• Erik Rush, April 15, 2013

Just some of the examples of Rauhauser’s and his friends’ hatred for us:

Rauhauser called SWATting victims Mike Stack and me the “Weinergate perps” — before our SWATtings were publicly known.

Rauhauser sent a document to law enforcement with information on a number of his enemies, including me, Stack, and Aaron Walker — all SWATting victims. Here is a screenshot from one of Rauhauser’s crazy documents:

That’s three SWATting victims named in Rauhauser’s nutty screed.

Rauhauser is, according to convicted bomber Brett Kimberlin, an “associate” of Kimberlin’s. Critics of Kimberlin have been SWATted including me, Aaron Walker, and Erick Erickson. Erickson was SWATted two days after he started criticizing Kimberlin. Walker was SWATted the same day he won a major court battle with Kimberlin.

(If you doubt Rauhauser’s connection to Kimberlin, or the way that he groups critics of Kimberlin’s with the late Andrew Breitbart, doubt no more. Just last night, on an Internet radio show, he boasted: “Breitbart fucked with me, he fucked with Brett [Kimberlin], and now his ass is dead.” Listen to the audio clip here.)

I was SWATted hours after I put up a post suggesting that a possible frame-up of Lee Stranahan for threatening a woman in Boston sounded like the type of thing Neal Rauhauser might do.

Erik Rush was SWATted two hours after arguing with “Team Kimberlin” member Bill Schmalfeldt, who has had Rauhauser on his radio show.

None of this is an accusation. I am not saying Neal Rauhauser (or any other specific person) has done any SWATting. Maybe it’s a supporter of his. Maybe it’s an enemy of his trying to frame him.

But doesn’t this sound like something the investigators of Mike Rogers’s SWATting should know about?

P.S. Here is the by-now traditional roll call of the SWATted: Congressman Mike Rogers; Wolf Blitzer; Ted Lieu; Erik Rush; Ryan Seacrest; Russell Brand; Selena Gomez; Justin Timberlake; Rihanna; Sean Combs; Chris Brown; Tom Cruise; Paris Hilton; Clint Eastwood; Brian Krebs; the Jenners and Kardashians; Justin Bieber; Miley Cyrus; Ashton Kutcher; Simon Cowell; Aaron Walker; Erick Erickson; Mike Stack; and me.

MORE: Rauhauser called Rogers an “election rigging loser” in this post, and this post says Rauhauser’s “Progressive PST” social media organization aided Rogers’s opponent, Lance Enderle.

Yesterday Erik Rush, a conservative pundit who appears on Fox News, got into a Twitter argument with a man named Bill Schmalfeldt — a prominent and vocal supporter of convicted bomber Brett Kimberlin. Kimberlin’s story became national news last May after it was reported that several of Kimberlin’s critics have been SWATted, including your humble blogger.

One more thing: it seems Erik Rush was SWATted yesterday.

Here’s the background. Last night, Rush made some comments about Muslims and the Boston Marathon bombings, and was immediately called out by Bill Schmalfeldt. Although Rush deleted one of the tweets, the exchange was captured in a screencap:

Schmalfeldt credited himself as being “the first person” to respond to Rush. One of Schmalfeldt’s fellow travelers credited Schmalfeldt as the person who called out Rush, and told Schmalfeldt that she had gotten his screencaps in an email from People from the American Way. Another Twitter user told Schmalfeldt that his tweet had appeared on Turkish TV, to which Schmalfeldt replied: “Man. I’m famous!”

Today, we learned that Rush was SWATted:

Conservative pundit and author Erik Rush has become the latest victim of “swatting,” a growing trend in which individuals place fake 911 calls drawing police response to a celebrity’s home. Rush, who resides in Fort Collins, Colo., appears to have been targeted following a series of controversial tweets regarding the Boston Marathon explosions.

According to Coloradoan.com, an individual claiming to be Rush called Fort Collins police Monday at about 5 p.m., reporting that two men wielding AK-47 rifles were firing rounds inside his home. But with no additional calls reporting the gunshots and because the call came to 911 through a third-party relay service, police dispatchers were suspicious. Rush was contacted by police via his home phone and confirmed that the call was fake.

Speaking with reporters outside his home following the incident, Rush said he had “said something sarcastically” on Twitter regarding early media reports that a Saudi man was connected to the Boston Marathon terrorist attack that day. “Yes, they’re evil. Kill them all,” he wrote, which quickly prompted a firestorm of responses.

As you can see, the person to whom Rush made that comment was Bill Schmalfeldt, writing as @Bloodonthemike on Twitter.

Bill Schmalfeldt is a self-declared member of what he calls “Team Kimberlin.” Writing as “Liberal Grouch” at the Kimberlin-related web site Breitbart Unmasked, Schmalfeldt devised a line of merchandise bearing a “Team Kimberlin” logo. Here is Schmalfeldt wearing a “Team Kimberlin” cap:

Above: Bill Schmalfeldt wears “Team Kimberlin” cap

Who is Brett Kimberlin? He is a man who was convicted in 1981 of setting off several bombs, one of which blew off the leg of a man named Carl DeLong. The graphic picture of a man whose leg was blown off yesterday in the Boston bombings reminds one of DeLong, who took his own life after his body was similarly maimed by one of Brett Kimberlin’s bombs. DeLong’s widow sued Kimberlin for DeLong’s wrongful death and won a judgment of over a million dollars, but Kimberlin never paid. Today, he is a left-wing political activist, and Bill Schmalfeldt has declared Kimberlin his “friend.”

Kimberlin and his supporters — including Neal Rauhauser and Bill Schmalfeldt — have badly harassed Kimberlin’s critics. After I wrote about Kimberlin’s past in October 2010, Kimberlin and his supporters launched a harassment campaign against me and other critics of Kimberlin’s, including: harassment of wives and family members; publication of home addresses and pictures of people’s homes; frivolous workplace complaints; the filing or threatening of frivolous lawsuits; frivolous applications for restraining orders; outing people’s identities; whisper campaigns; frivolous claims and reports to law enforcement of criminal wrongdoing; frivolous State Bar complaints or threats to file State Bar complaints; publication of a photo of a nude man that was falsely claimed to be a photo of the victim; defamation; daily abusive name-calling; and other harassment.

For example, Schmalfeldt told Kimberlin critic Lee Stranahan: “How about we find out where you are staying and rape YOU?” Schmalfeldt also published Stranahan’s home address and made a frivolous Child Protective Services complaint against Stranahan. Schmalfeldt has openly said that he conducts his harassment (he calls it “investigations”) on behalf of Brett Kimberlin:

In events that may or may not be related to this pattern of harassment, the following critics of Brett Kimberlin were SWATted in 2011 and 2012:

• Patrick Frey, July 1, 2011 (that’s me)

• Erick Erickson, May 27, 2012

• Aaron Walker, June 25, 2012 (my former guest blogger)

More about this here and here.

But that’s not all. Kimberlin’s aforementioned associate Rauhauser wrote posts in July 2011 blaming me and Mike Stack for the alleged hacking of Weiner. Rauhauser’s hatred of Stack and myself has shown up in several lengthy conspiratorial documents authored by Rauhauser. Mike Stack was SWATted on June 23, 2011.

That’s five people who have now been SWATted who were either critics of Brett Kimberlin, or did something to upset an associate or friend of his.

None of this is an accusation of any sort. I don’t know who is responsible for the SWATting of Erik Rush, or any other SWATtings, with certainty. However, I think the investigators on Rush’s case should be aware of the above facts. I will be sending him a link to this post, and will be happy to speak to him or his investigators further at any time.

CNN:

Ryan Seacrest became the latest celebrity targeted by a “swatter” when a hoax 911 call reported armed men were shooting their way into the “American Idol” host’s home Wednesday.

When police arrived at Seacrest’s Beverly Hills home at about 2:40 p.m., they found Seacrest there, but no group of armed men, a Beverly Hills police spokesman said.

After speaking with Seacrest and his security team, the officers left.

The article indicates that some local police agencies have begun responding more cautiously to calls that sound suspicious. This growing awareness seems like a good thing — but then, we don’t want a situation where a real emergency that sounds like a SWATting is not responded to quickly.

The now traditional roll call of the SWATted: Ryan Seacrest; Russell Brand; Selena Gomez; Justin Timberlake; Rihanna; Sean Combs; Chris Brown; Tom Cruise; Paris Hilton; Clint Eastwood; Brian Krebs; the Jenners and Kardashians; Justin Bieber; Miley Cyrus; Ashton Kutcher; Simon Cowell; Aaron Walker; Erick Erickson; Mike Stack; and me.

Brian Krebs writes about security and hackers. Yesterday, some hackers did a denial of service attack on his Web site. He was getting ready for some guests when things got rapidly more serious:

Vacuuming the rug near the front door, I noticed that some clear plastic tape I’d used to secure an extension cord for some outdoor lights was still straddling the threshold of the front door.

When I opened the door to peel the rest of the tape off, I heard someone yell, “Don’t move! Put your hands in the air.” Glancing up from my squat, I saw a Fairfax County Police officer leaning over the trunk of a squad car, both arms extended and pointing a handgun at me. As I very slowly turned my head to the left, I observed about a half-dozen other squad cars, lights flashing, and more officers pointing firearms in my direction, including a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle. I was instructed to face the house, back down my front steps and walk backwards into the adjoining parking area, after which point I was handcuffed and walked up to the top of the street.

I informed the responding officers that this was a hoax, and that I’d even warned them in advance of this possibility. In August 2012, I filed a report with Fairfax County Police after receiving non-specific threats. The threats came directly after I wrote about a service called absoboot.com (now at booter.tw), which is a service that can be hired to knock Web sites offline.

That description sounds . . . very familiar. I don’t think the same people are involved, of course, but Krebs’s account of his experience hits home with me.

Ars Technica says:

Krebs has achieved a decidedly more grim distinction. On Thursday, he became one of the first journalists to be on the receiving end of a vicious hoax that prompted a raid on his Northern Virginia home by a swarm of heavily armed police officers. The tactic, known as “swatting,” has long been a favorite of depraved hackers.

Perhaps “one of” the first, but not the first. Even if you don’t consider me a journalist — or Aaron Walker or Mike Stack to be journalists — Erick Erickson is clearly a journalist. Why, even people who turn up their noses at Mere Bloggers have to be impressed by someone who’s on TV all the time.

Krebs wants the feds working on this:

The local police departments of the United States are ill-equipped to do much to stop these sorts of attacks. I would like to see federal recognition of a task force or some kind of concerted response to these potentially deadly pranks. Hopefully, authorities can drive the message home that perpetrating these hoaxes on another will bring severe penalties. Who knows: Perhaps some of the data uncovered in this blog post and in future posts here will result in the legal SWATing of those responsible.

My advice, Mr. Krebs: don’t put too much stock in the feds, unless you’re in Dallas, where they have a track record of solving such crimes. Here in California, I think I would have been better off with the locals, since Orange County Sheriffs have solved a similar crime, and so has LAPD, while the FBI doesn’t seem to care much about my case. I don’t know how things are in Virginia, but I am saying: don’t be too quick to assume the feds are always more knowledgeable and/or diligent.

He appears to be the first of the celebrity SWATting victims to have been home when it happened:

Beverly Hills police responded to a call that someone had been tied up and needed help at “X Factor” judge Simon Cowell’s house, but the report turned out to be false, authorities said Monday.

The caller initially told Beverly Hills police that the person had been tied up with duct tape and gave an address outside of city limits, according to authorities. The caller then said the incident was taking place at “Simon Cowell’s” house, which is in Beverly Hills.

Agence France-Presse adds:

The police spokesman added that Sunday’s incident was rather amateurish.

“The call was so ridiculously done it had no credibility with the dispatcher … The dispatcher immediately suspected it was a fake,” he said, although officers were sent to check out the report just in case.

If they never catch anyone, it encourages copycats.