'It's getting to be an epidemic': Tulsa police captain talks impact of 'swatting' calls
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Oklahoma is now one of the hundreds of schools targeted by swatting, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation calls a dangerous form of harassment.
The goal is to get law enforcement, specifically a swat team, to respond to an address.
OU spent two hours Friday for what was believed to be an active shooter.
Police Chief Nate Tarver said it was a bogus call.
The university's president told students on Sunday the calls likely came from outside of the U.S.
"There's nothing humorous about this," said Tulsa Police Captain Mike Eckert. "We don't find any entertainment value out of it."
Eckert is the commander of the special operations team.
He said swatting calls like the one at OU prevents other people in need from getting help.
"There's an expectation not only from ourselves, but also from the public that we serve that we're going to come en masse," said Eckert. "We're going to bring all of our resources and try to get there as quickly as we can."
With all the resources going to one place, Eckert said it can put first responders in danger.
"The likelihood or the possibility of even car crashes is something that we don't recognize with these swatting calls," he said. "So there's a there's a lot of bad things about the swatting epidemic because it's getting to be an epidemic."