Police: Cameras likely played role in Palm Springs swatting hoax

The Palm Springs Police Department received an alarming call around 6:20 p.m. Saturday. An unknown man claimed he murdered his girlfriend and was holding his daughter hostage at a home on the 600 block of South Camino Real. The caller said he could see police in the area.

“He had his daughter tied up and if we knocked on the door he’d kill his daughter,” said Lt. Mike Kovaleff. “Emergency units responded, not only law personnel, but medical personnel.”

Police contacted the real homeowner, who wasn’t home at the time. It turns out, no one was.

“Eventually it turned out to be a hoax call or a swatting call,” said Kovaleff.

Swatting is described as when a person or persons call police about an emergency situation, which is totally made up.

Kovaleff said surveillance or web cameras may have played a role in the hoax. They’re controlled by the homeowner, however the video streams live on the Internet, potentially giving the hoaxer play-by-play of what’s going on.

“Especially with a tourist destination … type in ‘Palm Springs live cams’ and you’re going to see cameras all over Palm Springs. We don’t know if the hoaxer had access to that, but it’s a weird coincidence because not all home cameras provide live stream over the Internet,” said Kovaleff.

Investigators said the call could’ve been made here in the Coachella Valley or from a different country.

It cost the city several thousands of dollars in resources. If the person responsible is caught, they could face a misdemeanor charge or felony charges if anyone got hurt.

“This is an active investigation. This was a drain on the resources of the City of Palm Springs and it was disturbing to the homeowner to know all of these emergency personnel were at his house for a call that wasn’t even real,” said Kovaleff.