Swatting call an 'assassination attempt', says politician (Brandon Williams, R-NY)
Source: BBC
Swatting call an 'assassination attempt', says politician
14 February 2024
By Gary O'Donoghue
Washington correspondent, BBC News
On Christmas Day last year, Republican Congressman Brandon Williams was enjoying exchanging gifts with his family when a call came in on his cell phone.
At first, he didn't recognise the number, so ignored it. But when the phone's software transcribed the voicemail, he saw with horror that it was a message from the local Sheriff's office describing a shooting at his home.
Police had received a report that a man claiming to have killed his girlfriend was threatening to shoot himself, and that there were children in the house.
He immediately knew it was a swatting incident, he told the BBC.
"I had to put my family in a safe place, and be prepared to engage with the police in a way to de-escalate immediately," he recalled, "and I only had 60 seconds to make that happen."
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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68297349
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