Report of hostage taking in Saskatoon turns out to be hoax

SASKATOON Saskatoon police are trying to find the person responsible for making a false report about a hostage taking in the city on Monday morning.

The call resulted in a significant police response in the Willowgrove part of the city, according to a news release. At 8:40 a.m., a man called Saskatoon police, identified himself and claimed he was at a residence on Lucyk Crescent and was holding two people hostage. The caller also claimed he had shot one of the hostages in the knee, demanded a ransom and said he was armed with guns and explosives.

After arriving at the home the caller claimed to be calling from, police determined the call was a hoax, and that the residents in the home were not involved with the call.

Police located a man in the city with the name given by the caller, but found he was also not involved. Police are continuing to investigate the hoax, but said there is currently very little information to go on.

The incident bears a resemblance to the practice of swatting, which has become a serious problem for police forces, especially in the United States. Swatting is a tactic meant to deceive police forces into believing a serious incident is happening at someone’s home.

Usually, the caller making the false report will claim an active situation involving a gun is in progress, such as a hostage taking. The goal is to provoke a heavy police response, potentially involving a SWAT team.

A watch commander with the Saskatoon Police Service said that while police don’t use the term swatting, the event did have many similarities with other instances of swatting.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-9758300 or Saskatoon Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.