False calls for active shooters are rising. Behind them is a strange pattern | Hacker News Reader

False calls for active shooters are rising. Behind them is a strange pattern

npr.org

25 pointsIAmGraydon14 comments

This appears to be a Freudian slip

> The hoaxes are called "swatting," a term that refers to calls that falsely report an act of violence in progress or about to occur. They are intended to set off a massive and immediate deployment of armed law enforcement to a specific target, including SWAT teams. The results can be quite dangerous, as they were in a fatal incident in 2017, when police swatted a man in Wichita, Kansas. (emphasis added)

Edit: It also isn't clear what the author means by "originates overseas". Their facts on consistent with the final VPN hop being in Ethiopia, but their analysis assume the user was there.

It's disappointing that they didn't ask whether the fake caller had an American accent or similar, though they did refer to incongruities in the report such as specifying a kind of weapon which is not popular or typically associated with mass shootings in the US.

Maybe the real problem here is that the police shouldn't be shooting people on sight just because they were told on the phone that someone is dangerous in a building, and instead should be properly assess the situation before getting too trigger happy?

I know, it's a crazy idea, right?

Be the change you want to see in the world, join the police today.

No? Why?

Because its hard and i'm tired !

I saw same reason used to defend uvalde policemen.

> I think that almost any sane, logical human should be having problems keeping up with the fast changing world. There is simply too much shit, too much stupid and not enough time to understand things without sacrificing family, relationships, or health. World is messed up, and it's not worth understanding it anymore, I don't think the payout is worth the cost.

Ironic that you said this.

One is a job, the other is people's lives.

Context yo.

In what world is a job not part of a person’s life and doesn’t affect others lives, especially working in a PD?

We need harsh penalties for criminals and cross border police responses (or military if necessary).

The internet cannot remain anonymous. For every "activist" this supposedly protects, it provides cover to dozens of criminals harming hundreds of people.

If this is from overseas, then subjecting American internet users to mass-surveillance would have no effect, and the US lacks the jurisdiction to subject global internet users to mass-surveillance.

>>For every "activist" this supposedly protects, it provides cover to dozens of criminals harming hundreds of people.

Anonymity on the internet helps people fight back against government repression, which harms people on a scale that totally dwarfs the harm done by this phenomenon.

> Anonymity on the internet helps people fight back against government repression

Can you give example where this worked out? Was there any dictators toppled by anonymous posting?

I don't the Americans would like it if the Mounties enforced Canadian law in the states.

They especially wouldn't like it if the cartels enforced cartel law in texas

I think it can and should remain anonymous by default, but realism demands (and usually gets) a way through that anonymity by legal, technical, or investigative means sooner or later.

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