Advances in technology allow prank callers to mask their voice, phone number or IP address, or make their false 911 calls sound more credible.
Author Patrick Tomlinson and his wife, business owner Niki Robinson, have been "swatted" at their home in Milwaukee more than 40 times, often resulting in police pointing guns at their heads. Their tormentors have also called in false bomb threats to venues using their names in three states. Yet law enforcement hasn’t been able to stop the prank calls.
The couple’s terror comes as these incidents appear to be on the rise in the U.S., at least on college campuses. In less than a single week in April, universities including Clemson, Florida, Boston, Harvard, Cornell, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Oklahoma, as well as Middlebury College, were targeted by swatters.
To combat the growing problem, the FBI has begun taking formal measures to get a comprehensive picture of the problem on a national level.
I'm curious -- have you ever worked in emergency services? I have, for many years, and I've heard takes like yours far more times than I can recount. They often come from those who haven't worked to improve their community hands-on.
When you or a loved one get shot or maimed and no one cares enough to help, take comfort in knowing that EMS isn't coming.
Don't believe me? No one is going to risk their life for you. No one cares about you. People are selfish, and no amount of idealism and wishful thinking will ever change that.