Video game developer, police run afoul of "swatting" hoax

Wesley Wolfe, 25, is a software programmer who has created an add-on to popular online videogame Minecraft. He recently filed a copyright claim on his work which lead to it being removed from use. This seems to have rankled members of the online gaming community who decided to inflict a bit of payback on Wolfe. An unidentified Skype user used the online service to call in a fake distress call to police just after 1 p.m., identifying themselves as Wolfe and declaring that he had shot and killed his parents and was out to kill more people. less Wesley Wolfe, 25, is a software programmer who has created an add-on to popular online videogame Minecraft. He recently filed a copyright claim on his work which lead to it being removed from use. This seems to ... more Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Video game developer, police run afoul of "swatting" hoax 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

A La Marque man was the target of a "swatting" prank Thursday afternoon after he ran afoul of online troublemakers who called the local police to alert them to a developing, albeit false, murder scene at his home.

"Swatting" is the act of calling law enforcement to someone else's home and reporting that something is happening or will happen. It's usually the work of pranksters who want to target celebrities, but officials see nothing funny about diverting valuable police resources in the process.

Wesley Wolfe, 25, is a software programmer who has created an add-on to popular online videogame Minecraft. He recently filed a copyright claim on his work which lead to it being removed from use. This seems to have rankled members of the online gaming community who decided to inflict a bit of payback on Wolfe. An unidentified Skype user used the online service to call in a fake distress call to police just after 1 p.m., identifying themselves as Wolfe and declaring that he had shot and killed his parents and was out to kill more people.

Of course that wasn't the case but the La Marque Police Department did not know this and swung into action and alerted its special response team and nearby Texas City's own SWAT team was placed on stand-by to investigate the scene and possibly engage a suspect.

La Marque police said Thursday that they were dispatched to the 2300 block of Clark where they set up a perimeter around Wolfe's home. An officer had to get on a PA system to get the attention of the family. They finally made contact with Wolfe and his parents and they affirmed that they were safe and sound.

Wolfe later told police that because of his software work he has received threats over social media. Det. Shawn Spruill with La Marque police said that Wolfe didn't seem all surprised that it happened to him.

"One of the products that Wolfe created has lead into some copyright issues with some internet-based businesses," said Spruill on Friday. According to various gaming message boards, Wolfe has created software that Minecraft players could use to play the game on a multiplayer platform and once he pulled it down due to a copyright issue they became aggravated. There is even an online petition on Change.org to get Wolfe to rescind his DMCA takedown.

"Minecraft and swatting seems to be a common thread" said Spruill, mentioning a handful other cases in which disputes over the game have led to similar cases from Washington state to Connecticut.

What's the cost of swatting for a local police force?

"I wouldn't be able to put a dollar amount on it but it tied up all of our resources like EMS and fire for an hour or so," said Spruill. The neighborhood where Wolfe and his family live is an older community where not much happens, much less a SWAT scene.

He's still hopeful that they can make an arrest in the case. They do know so far that the call came in part from a landline based in California.

"I'm always confident we can make headway with these kinds of cases but we have to go through Skype to collect data," he says. "The caller was a male and that's the only key piece of evidence that we can release at this time."