Wisconsin teen made false SWAT call to Manassas Park home: police

Police: Wisconsin teen made false SWAT call

Police now know who made a fake call about a shooting that prompted a major SWAT team presence in Manassas Park last Friday afternoon.

MANASSAS PARK, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Police in Manassas Park have identified the person they said made a fake call about an apparent shooting that prompted their SWAT team to surround a house on Friday afternoon.

On Monday, police announced the caller is a juvenile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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SKYFOX captured the dramatic scene in Manassas Park as police carefully entered the home in the 8400 block of Sandstone Way.

Police told FOX 5, that the call was first made in Fredericksburg into the Fredericksburg Police Department.

Fredericksburg police confirmed with FOX 5 that the caller was a juvenile and had dialed into their administrative office claiming that there was a shooting at a house on Sandstone Way and that the victim was his father.

The department then re-routed that call to the correct district in Manassas Park, prompting them to send officers and SWAT to the address the unidentified caller provided.

Once SWAT got inside the house, police said that no one was inside.

“It’s about our safety and that’s why they do it,” said Maurice Mawel who was told by his son’s school that students were being kept inside until the scene cleared.

“They are doing their job,” the father continued. “That was right, I’m not complaining. That’s good because a bad guy might be in my neighborhood and needs to be caught by the police so I’m not against that.”

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Police said the case remains under investigation as they continue to work with the police department in Milwaukee where a number of electronics have also been confiscated from an apartment where the juvenile may have been living.

FOX 5 also knocked on the door of the house that was in question but no one answered.

Police said that charges in this case would fall under falsely summonsing or giving a false report to law enforcement with eliciting a police response —along with possible other charges.