Cascade Road Swatting Was 911 Hack — The owner of a home in Springfield, Pa. was tackled and handcuffed when he approached the police swarming his backyard last night, June 2. The 60 police officers including a hostage negotiator and members of a SWAT unit had been dispatched to the address in the 100 block of Cascade Road when the dispatchers at the Delaware County 911 center in Middletown reported that three people had been killed in the house and others taken hostage.
The system indicated the call was coming from inside the house. After the owner was tackled, a woman emerged holding a child. Police entered the home and found nothing amiss. The 911 system, however, continued receiving descriptions of violence inside the home.
Police say the residents, a family with three children, appear to be nothing but victims.
The incident cause the evacuation of the neighboring homes along with two homes across the street.
Police Chief Joseph Daly expects to find the culprit within “a day or two.”
Hat tip to Mari A. Schaefer at the Philadelphia Inquirer.