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LAYTON — Since December, Layton police have evacuated homes due to a large bomb threat, sent a SWAT team to a home on a report of a murder, and received a report of a mass killing — only to find each case was a false alarm.

Layton police believe one of their residents who has his own popular YouTube channel has been the target of swatting, a form of hacking involving a person who typically lives in another state who uses the internet to contact 911 and report a horrific crime, prompting a large police response to an unsuspecting resident.

For police, it's both frustrating and dangerous.

"We responded (to those calls) with everything. We had to take it seriously," said Layton Police Lt. Travis Lyman. "It's a tremendous response when someone calls (indicating) a killing or a bomb threat, we have to take those seriously."

On Dec. 15, emergency dispatchers received a call from a man claiming multiple bombs had been placed at a residence near 100 East and 2250 West in Layton due to a drug debt, according to Lyman and a search warrant recently unsealed in 2nd District Court.

Several surrounding homes were evacuated. It wasn't until police found the resident, who was not at the house, and had him return to unlock the door that the call was determined to be false.

On Feb. 14, police were called in the middle of the night to the same address by a man claiming his family had been killed and he was next unless he paid off a debt, according to the warrant.

A full SWAT team was dispatched. It surrounded the home and made contact with the unsuspecting man inside.

"We called him out of the home. The homeowner came out and our Immediate Action Team did take him into custody at gunpoint," Lyman said.

After it was determined that the man had again been the victim of swatting, he was released.

On Feb. 23, emergency dispatchers received a call from a man reporting that his wife and children were being held hostage and the garage had been blown up, then said his wife and three others had been killed. The man also wanted $1 million in ransom, Lyman said. In addition to being an over-the-top call, investigators recognized the pattern by that time, and responded with just six officers who determined it was another swatting call.

Police were sent that time to an address that did not exist, but it was close to the same intended victim's new house, Lyman said.

The man believed to be the intended target of the swatting is a 20-year-old Layton resident who has his own YouTube channel, Lyman said. The channel, LeafyIsHere, has more than 1.8 million subscribers. Police say the man essentially pokes fun, sometimes while using extremely crass language, at other YouTube channels, which could be a motive for the swatting.

In each case, Lyman said a lot of resources and money have been expended to verify that the calls were false.

"It takes away from legitimate emergencies that are going on all the time around the city," he said. "It's a big impact not only on our operation, but the homeowners themselves."

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Lyman said the evacuations created a huge inconvenience for many residents. And it was also a traumatic event for the homeowner who was arrested at gunpoint.

The swatting incidents also affect other nearby police agencies who have to cover for Layton while their officers are tied up.

Lyman said swatting has the potential to be dangerous when police show up with guns drawn.

"The potential for something to go wrong and for there to be some sort of confrontation or miscommunication or misunderstanding is pretty high. It's a scary situation," he said.

Adding to the frustration of police, however, is the fact that catching the swatters is very difficult.

The man believed to be the target of the swatting received a Twitter message from a person threatening to swat him, Lyman said. Detectives have served several out-of-state warrants to try and locate that person, only to learn several "anonymizers" were used to make the Tweet virtually untraceable.

"They're bouncing off servers all over the world before ending up in someone's Twitter account," he said. "When somebody goes to that extent to be anonymous, it makes it really difficult to find the suspect."

Although the Layton man's YouTube show is recorded, Lyman said in other states, people with YouTube channels who conduct live broadcasts are targeted by swatters who want to see police show up while that person is broadcasting.

Anyone who may have information on the recent swatting incidents can call police at 801-487-8300.

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