It was revealed last week that the home of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was the target of two swatting incidents within a few days, however, the former UN ambassador was not home during either, NBC News reported.
The first incident occurred on Saturday, December 30 when Charleston County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 report in which the caller claimed he shot a woman at Haley’s Kiawah Island residence and was going to kill himself.
On New Year’s Day, sheriff’s deputies responded to a second 911 report from a person claiming that a woman shot her daughter and planned to shoot herself.
During both incidents, the responding deputies arrived at Haley’s home where they spoke with the home help caring for Haley’s elderly parents, and quickly determined that the 911 calls were hoaxes.
The Charlestown County Sherrif’s Office confirmed on January 29 that the swatting incidents were currently closed but would be reopened if any new leads were found.
Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Amber Allen told NBC News that swatting was not only a crime that wastes public resources and taxpayer money but could also be “incredibly dangerous.”
Allen said the cases were difficult to investigate since the 911 calls are usually made from untraceable numbers. She said by working with state and federal law enforcement, it is possible for local law enforcement to “identify perpetrators when possible.”
In a January 28 interview with “Meet the Press,” Haley discussed the December 30 incident, saying it was proof of the “chaos” surrounding the nation.
“Swatting” is when someone falsely reports a crime to draw an armed police response to a specific location.
In recent weeks, there has been a wave of swatting incidents involving public officials.
Last week, Ohio Democrat Rep. Shontel Brown said police were called to her home in Warrensville Heights in an attempted swatting incident.
In a statement, Rep. Brown called for civility and urged Americans to remove “violence and intimidation from our democracy.”
