Swatting incident prompts massive police response in Hamilton

March 29, 2021

By: Tyler Eckel

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP (MERCER)– A swatting call prompted a massive police response to a residence on Julia Avenue, Monday afternoon.

The incident occurred around 4:20 pm. Hamilton Police received a 911 call from a male stating he came home to his residence in the 100 block of Julia Avenue, where he discovered his wife was cheating on him. The male told 911 that he grabbed his gun and shot her in the head, killing her, and was holding the other male hostage. He also stated he will fire at officers upon their arrival.

While officers were responding to the scene, another 911 call came in from a neighboring residence, stating that they heard several gunshots coming from the suspected home.

During their investigation, police discovered that the call was a possible swatting call, which is the action of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address. The calls are typically made from a spoofed number, and often come from people that are out of state or even overseas.

It was determined that nobody was shot and no hostages were being held. Police walked through the home, and found no active emergency.

It is believed that the 911 calls did not originate from the reported residence.

This incident prompted a massive emergency response. Multiple Hamilton Police units responded, and immediately began to assess the situation and establish a plan. SWAT Team, along with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Bearcat was requested to the scene, and EMS and Paramedics were dispatched to stage in the area. They were all cleared once police discovered the nature of the incident was unfounded.

A similar incident occurred last night in Trenton around 11:20 pm. Police received information via a text message to 911 that someone was shot in the 500 block of North Clinton Avenue. The message also stated that the gunshot victim was on their way to the Trauma Center. This incident also turned out to be unfounded.

This remains under investigation.

If we receive any updates, we will update the post. Please check back for any updates.