VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Portsmouth man is charged and accused of calling 911 to falsely report emergencies, resulting in multiple "swatting" incidents in Virginia Beach, according to the city's police department.
Jalen Chesson, 20, is facing three counts of falsely summoning law enforcement, police shared on Tuesday.
VBPD says "swatting" is when someone falsely reports a serious emergency like a shooting, hostage situation, or other violent crime, to trigger an immediate law enforcement response. This often involves the Special Weapons and Tactics team, known as SWAT.
Police say over several weeks, multiple 911 calls were made about "violent incidents in progress." The calls all came from the same number.
First responders were sent out for each call, police say, and all the reported emergencies were determined to be false.
VBPD is emphasizing the serious nature of swatting, as critical public safety resources are used to respond to the false emergencies. Swatting also puts responders and the community at risk, police say.
