Chris Brown's Home Searched by Police Amid 'Swatting' Hoax
Chris Brown's home was reportedly swarmed by police on Monday evening due to a domestic dispute that turned out to be nothing more than a prank.
Brown, 23-year-old Grammy Award-winning singer, reportedly had authorities arrive to his California residence on Monday after police were told that the singer's mother may have been shot, the Los Angeles Police Department said. According to the Los Angeles Times, the authorities were contacted before 5 p.m. and arrived at the singer's residence to find that the singer was not present.
While Brown's staff was in his home, police searched the singer's residence before his parents arrived on the scene, the Times reports. The publication reports that the incident was caused by swatting, a growing trend where anonymous people call the police for a fictitious crime that causes them to respond by sending authorities and sometimes SWAT officers to celebrity homes.
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Brown is not the only victim of swatting. Recent celebrities that have been targeted include actors Tom Cruise, Ashton Kutcher and singer Justin Bieber. Reality television star Kim Kardashian was also reportedly involved in a swatting prank that left her fuming on Twitter.
"These prank calls are NOT funny! People can get arrested for this! I hope they find out who is behind this. Its dangerous and not a joke," Kardashian tweeted after becoming a victim to the prank last week. "Just got a call from my mom telling me about this prank call that someone was shot in their home and 15 swat team and 3 helicopters showed up!"
After the recent Swatting trend in Hollywood made headlines, a number of people took to Twitter to call for an end to the phenomenon.
"#Please Stop 'swatting' -- prank calling police to celebrities homes for false allegations," one person tweeted. "This is a waste of officials and not funny!"
Another person tweeted directly to Brown to apologize to the singer for being the latest victim of the hoax.
"I'm so sorry about your swatting. It needs to stop," the person tweeted. "Who knew that a phone could be such a weapon. #StopTheSwat."
