POCATELLO — A prank 911 call prompted a significant police response to a mobile home park in south Pocatello early Saturday morning in what authorities are calling a rare incident of swatting in Southeast Idaho.

The caller, believed to be a juvenile male, called police around 5:30 a.m. to report that he had shot his cousin at a mobile home in the 4900 block of South Fifth Avenue and would shoot any responding police officers, authorities said.

Several Pocatello police units responded to the mobile home in the trailer park and found it to be occupied by a woman who said no one had been shot there. Police investigated the scene and determined the 911 call they received was a case of swatting, when someone makes a false report to law enforcement about a serious criminal incident such as a shooting in hopes of triggering a massive police response.

Police said this is not the first local case of swatting but it doesn't happen here nearly as often as it does in larger cities.

Police said the 911 call was determined to originate from out of state.

The incident is being investigated and if the person who made the call is located he or she could be charged with making a false report to police, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. 

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