Rapper Nicki Minaj Targeted With False Shooting Report

HIDDEN HILLS, CA — Sheriff's officials believe Rapper Nicki Minaj may have been the target of swatting when they received a false report of a shooting at her Hidden Hills home Wednesday night.

The call came in just after 7 p.m., and deputies rushed to a home in the 5000 block of Jed Smith Road only to find it empty with no sign of a disturbance, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

The caller reported that a friend shot a Black woman and that two possible suspects were at the location wearing all black, according to the sheriff's department.

The watch commander would not confirm that the address belonged to the rapper, but said "Rumor has it." He added, "No one was there. No crime," according to the watch commander.

The call had all the obvious signs of swatting. It came in through the harder to trace business line as opposed to the dispatch center via 911, the Los Angeles Times reported. There were also no corroborating calls, which is typical during active shootings.

Still, authorities have to take such calls seriously and respond in force.

Minaj has been targeted by swatting calls before. Celebrities, including the likes of Jennifer Anniston and Arnold Schwarzenegger, are frequent targets for swatting calls in Los Angeles County. Swatting calls have led to fatal police shootings and cost massive expenses to police and sheriff's departments.

Recently, swatting calls triggering mass police responses at local hospitals and universities.

SEE ALSO:

• LA Serial Swatter Sentenced For Murder In Deadly Police Shooting
• 'Swatting' Call At Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Prompts Massive Response
• Duo Hacked Into Ring Accounts To Live Stream Swatting
• Report Of Winnetka Gunman Turns Out To Be Hoax

City News Service contributed to this report.