SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica Police received a call about an active shooter at Huntley Hotel Wednesday, but after a short investigation officials found the reports to be false.
Reports of a potential threat at the hotel near Second Street and California Avenue led to heavy police response, with the first officers arriving on the scene in under four minutes according to authorities. The caller told the 911 dispatcher that multiple people had been injured in the shooting.
However, when officers arrived they quickly uncovered that the claims were fake and nobody was injured because no shots were fired at the hotel.
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Police said they consider this incident a swatting call, which is a “deceptive call to emergency services personnel resulting in a police response when there is no true crime or emergency.” Swatting is illegal and is similar to making a false police report, SMPD said.
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