LAPD Worried Someone Will Die During Celebrity Swatting Pranks

The LAPD is worried that a celebrity or one of their posse could be killed because of the recent trend known as ‘swatting’ pranks.

In case you are unfamiliar with this type of prank, someone calls 911 and reports a deadly shooting at the home of a celebrity, they then watch with glee from a distance as a SWAT team bursts into the celebrities home and nearly gives them a heart attack.

Swatting pranks have already hit the homes of Miley Cyrus, Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber and the LAPD fears that more such attacks may be on the way.

As one law enforcement official tells TMZ:

“If the pranks continue, it’s only a matter of time before an innocent person is mistaken for a phantom shooter and gets shot to death.

Even worse, someone who actually needs help could watch as valuable minutes are wasted at homes where no one was ever in trouble. EMTs arrive alongside other law enforcement officials to assist with any injured people at swatting calls.

In the meantime the LAPD is actively searching for prank callers and they claim to have “several promising leads” that may lead to the arrest of the guilty parties. Police received some information from Ashton Kutcher’s neighbors who believe they saw someone scoping out his house before a 911 call was placed.

Here’s to hoping no celebrities are shot because of the stupidity of strangers. After all plenty of celebs do enough stupid things on their own that could get them shot, they don’t need the help of the public.