Summary
- Police were called over a bomb threat and shooting at the casino.
- The casino was evacuated to protect players and employees.
- Police realized soon after that the incident was a swatting.
It is not uncommon for police to be called to a casino for criminal behavior. When drinking and money are involved, patrons often get into physical fights, and sometimes even shooting or stabbing is involved. Additional incidents can also occur, including bomb threats, kidnappings, etc. It is quite rare, but such instances do occur.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino in New York was reportedly threatened with a bomb and then shooter action, only for the incident to be named a swatting event by police.
Details of the Event
Last night, just before 7 pm, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal police received a call from the casino that a bomb threat had been called in. Not long after, the police station received a call that gunshots were heard at the casino.
At the same time the calls are coming in, the New York casino is evacuating the venue to avoid any harm to guests and employees. Police arrived on the scene and secured the area, then discovered no gunshots had occurred. Police reported not long after that the incident was fake, and no threat was in place.
Such an incident is known as swatting. Chief Matthew Rourke stated that the national trend of swatting calls puts the community and officers in danger as every precaution is taken when they are responding to incidents.
What is Swatting?
The calls to the casino were found to have come from outside the United States. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the incident, but they could have been. When police arrive, they take every precaution, and any potential suspect will be questioned. This can lead to major issues like false arrest or even harm to someone who is scared to be detained by police and act out.
Swatting originated in the gaming world as players competing against others on Xbox or PlayStation would call in a threat to the police on another player. This would cause the player’s home to be targeted and swarmed by police.
Several incidents have taken place over the years across the United States, and now it appears that US casinos may be the next target. Any call of a bomb threat or other violence is taken seriously, as casinos can have thousands of visitors in place at one time. Hopefully, this was an isolated incident and other venues will not receive similar calls in the future.
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