Framingham Police Respond To Fake Hostage Situation on Frost Street

Framingham Police swarmed a Frost Street home, with guns drawn, after receiving an emergency call about a hostage situation in the Dunning Elementary School neighborhood. But the call was fake.

But Framingham Police did not know the call was fake, until after a search of the house and a wake-up call that startled the residents.

Irandi Waighe and her mother-in-law, 96, who is a double amputee and in a wheelchair were home at the time. Irandi’s husband, Peter, was just pulling up from his overnight job as the incident unfolded, according to Fox-25 Boston.

These fake 9-1-1 calls, indicating dangerous situations, are called “swatting.”

The individuals who engage in this activity use technology to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone. Sometimes swatting is done for revenge, sometimes as a prank, according to the FBI.

This is the second “swatting” incident in Framingham, this month.

The FBI began warning police about this phone hacking to make fake 9-1-1 calls, back in 2008.

Framingham Police are investigating Tuesday’s call.

The caller told police he had shot his girlfriend and had tied up another family member. Neither was true.