Cape Coral swatting calls disrupt neighborhoods and waste police resources

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

Police surrounded a Southeast Cape Coral road with guns drawn this week, responding to what appeared to be a major crime scene, but the incident turned out to be a fake call for help, known as swatting.

Swatting involves anonymous individuals making fake police calls to report emergencies in the area. This week, Cape Coral experienced two swatting incidents in two days: one near Del Prado Boulevard and SE 12th Street and another off Chiquita Boulevard.

Victor Hernandez, a Cape Coral resident, encountered officers in his neighborhood during his morning walk on Thursday.

“You don’t want that to happen, especially in your hometown,” Hernandez said.

Another swatting incident on Wednesday created an even larger scene.

“At a certain point, you did see officers rolling down the way with rifles at the low ready. So we were under the assumption something serious was going on,” said Eric Mango, assistant manager at Shoot Center.

Reporting fake crimes is a felony. However, catching those responsible is difficult, according to Jerry Connolly, chief of police at Florida SouthWestern State College.

“Generally, they will use ghost numbers, different IP addresses that are not traceable. Actually identifying them is very difficult. Generally, agencies partner with the FBI,” Connolly said.

Connolly added that some callers are not even in the country.

“It’s definitely different nowadays. You know, it’s not just your celebrities, your influencers. It’s your regular mom and pops nowadays,” Mango said.

Despite advancements in differentiating fake calls from real emergencies, Connolly emphasized that law enforcement must treat every call for help as genuine.

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