STURTEVANT, Wis. — A call to law enforcement reporting an emergency situation in Sturtevant late Friday morning was determined to be a false report or "swatting" call, the Racine County Sheriff's Office says.
Deputies were first called to Highway 11 and 99th St. in Sturtevant at about 11:30 a.m. Friday, when a caller claimed there were "numerous explosives," hostages, and at least three people dead in that location. The dispatcher also reported hearing screaming in the background of the call.
Watch: Racine County Sheriff's Office responds to 'swatting' incident in Sturtevant; no threat to public
The Racine County Sheriff's Office, along with multiple other agencies, responded to the area. They couldn't find any victims or any signs of criminal activity.
"The Racine County Sheriff’s Office takes all such reports seriously due to the potential risk to public safety and the significant resources required to respond," a statement from the sheriff's office says. "Swatting incidents divert critical emergency resources from real emergencies and place a heavy burden on law enforcement and first responders."
A long list of agencies responded to the call, according to the statement.
• Racine County Sheriff’s Office (including the Racine County SWAT Team)
• Mount Pleasant Police Department
• Caledonia Police Department
• Racine Police Department
• Wisconsin State Patrol
• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
• Kenosha Sheriff’s Office
• South Shore Fire Department
• Ascension Healthcare System (activated mass-casualty protocols)
• Aurora Healthcare System (activated mass-casualty protocols)
Anyone with information about the swatting call is asked to contact Investigator Andrew Sparks at andrew.sparks@racinecounty.gov.
This incident not only disrupted law enforcement, Amtrak trains were canceled and delayed as well.
A spokesperson for Amtrak sent the following info:
"Our Borealis train to St. Paul was delayed and two of our Hiawatha Service trains between Milwaukee and Chicago were canceled and replaced by chartered buses until the tracks were reopened. Residual delays tonight."
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