Hat hospital reopens after online ‘SWAT’ hoax

By Collin Gallant on May 6, 2020.

An online hoax led local police to briefly lock down the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital on Tuesday night, the Medicine Hat Police reported early Wednesday. 

It is reopen and operating as usual.

Police say that a person in Seattle took issue with a 12-year-old boy during an online video gaming session, and attempted to “SWAT” the boy who had ties to Medicine Hat but now lives near Calgary.

“Swatting” refers to a person posting violent threats against a location in hopes of garnering heavy police reaction (such as a SWAT team). Many times they have no connection or knowledge of the scene but are seeking thrills, or do it to implicate others as a revenge scheme.

In the most recent local incident, a complaint was received from a person in St. Louis, Missouri pointing them to an online manifesto mentioning the local hospital. It was attributed to a pre-teen with connections to Medicine Hat, but an investigation traced the post to a rival from an online gaming forum.

Police say the origin of the threat was actually from another individual in Washington State. They consider the boy to be innocent and a victim of the crime.

Medicine Hat police are urging parents to discuss the issue with their children as well as general online safety tips, which are outlined here.

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