Miley Cyrus' California Home Swarmed by Police in Possible Hoax
Cyrus' Los Angeles home was swarmed by police, fire and rescue squads.
Aug. 2, 2012 — -- Miley Cyrus' Los Angeles home was swarmed by police, fire and rescue squads responding to a report of a possible home invasion, but the pop star was apparently the victim of a "swatting" prank.
Law enforcement officials said a 911 call came in Wednesday at 6:50 p.m. PT, stating a possible home invasion with possible shots fired at Cyrus' home.
"We responded to a call of a kidnapping in progress, one person shot, at an address on Amanda Drive," North Hollywood police said.
A recording of a two-way police radio call from Wednesday night seems to confirm that an incident occurred at an address corresponding with where Cyrus lives.
Officers established a perimeter and, with their guns drawn, approached the house. Everything was quiet and no one was home.
Police determined it was a false call and declared it a possible "swatting" prank in which bogus calls are made in an attempt to get SWAT cops to bust down doors of innocent people.
Anyone can be "swatted" and, increasingly, they are. There are hundreds of such cases every year.
In June, a 911 call in which someone told the dispatcher, "I just shot my wife," sent a SWAT team racing to Atlanta radio personality Erick Erickson's home.
"I've got a 3 year old and a 6 year old and my wife and it wasn't just me that was being targeted," Erickson said. "They were being targeted."
Law enforcement is now cracking down on the increasingly common crime.
"It's not just bad, it is a crime," one police officer said. "And if we find out who it is, we will arrest them and prosecute them."