Someone has alarmed the cop by giving information about suspicious people approaching Russell's house in Hollywood.
- Apr 9, 2013
AceShowbiz - The swatting pranks targeting Hollywood celebrities didn't show a sign of slowing down. In fact, there's a new name added to the growing list of the victims. Russell Brand became the latest star who got his home swatted Monday, April 8.
According to TMZ, someone called 911 giving fake info to the dispatcher that there were two armed men, one was black and the other was white, heading to Russell's home. The caller said the suspects were sporting body armor each.
"We sent a number of officers from our Hollywood division. The officers saw no crime or anyone with a need for medical attention," Detective Gus Villanueva told CNN. Russell was allegedly not home when the incident happened at 3:35 P.M.
Swatting pranks started happening a lot in 2012. At the end of the year, a 12-year-old boy was arrested in connection with incidents involving the homes of Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber. Even after the boy was detained, the pranks didn't stop.
P. Diddy, Paris Hilton and the Kardashian family were targeted in the similar fraudulent calls earlier this year, before the prankster(s) targeting Miley Cyrus and Simon Cowell last year moved on to the likes of Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Selena Gomez.
It's called swatting because the prankster(s) usually succeed in tricking police into sending SWAT force to respond to their fake distressed calls. LA Times says LAPD is trying to crack down on the practice by training dispatchers to identify possible crank callers. Also, California lawmakers are considering tougher penalties for swatting.
