Prank call leads to midnight raid on Stevi apartment complex

By Michael Howell

Several residents of an apartment complex located on Main Street in Stevensville were rousted from their beds just after midnight on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning last week and a few doors were kicked open as Stevensville police and county deputies searched for a possible active shooter in the area.
According to Stevensville Police Chief James Marble, the county emergency dispatch center received a call on its non-emergency line in which a male voice stated that he had stabbed his girlfriend. A short time later the same caller called again and said that he had shot his nephew and gave the address of a particular apartment at an apartment complex located at 522 Main Street.
Responding officers breached the door at that apartment upon arrival but quickly determined that it was not the scene of the events that were reported. Marble said that the search quickly expanded as repeated calls were received during the search, suggesting that the situation was escalating and that they had an active shooter situation. A few other apartment doors were breached in the process before the caller eventually called saying that it was a prank.
Marble said that there is a phenomenon called “SWAT-ing” in which false emergency calls are made to get law enforcement to respond.
“It’s an extremely dangerous situation for law enforcement and for the people that get caught up in the prank,” said Marble. “It shocks the conscience.” He said in his way of thinking the intent was to disrupt people’s lives, not just during the event, but down the road as well.
“Thankfully no one was hurt, but it could have ended very badly,” said Marble. He said that these kinds of prank calls are obviously illegal and that his office would be working hard on identifying a suspect in the case. He said he did not believe it was a totally random call and the investigation was continuing. He said at least two doors at the apartment building had to be completely replaced, including jams and frames.