OMAHA, Nebraska (WOWT) – For Amanda and George McGinness, the last 30 days have been a nightmare. Multiple swatting calls have caused many restless nights.
“My doorbell goes off we freak out, we all jump towards the phone or run towards the door,” George told me. “My two teenage girls don’t feel safe in their own home anymore. It shouldn’t be like that; their house should be somewhere we feel protected.”
Omaha Police confirmed to First Alert 6 that five swatting calls were made to their residence over the last month and a half.
Three of them were only on Friday night. George says his headache began on Thanksgiving night.
“We had all seven kids at the house, we were out here playing games and they showed up,” George told me. “Its just, after that the mood was gone, the two other girls want to leave and everyone wants to go their own way and go to their rooms.”
George has been rebuilding his life since he got sober about three years ago. His sobriety has given him a second chance to be a better husband and parent, but the swatting has added an additional speed hurdle.
“For example, we haven’t been able to go shopping for our children because of all of this. We’ve been terrified to leave the house at night,” said George.
“I didn’t want to leave my children by themselves. My children are teenagers; I should be able to walk out of here and not worry about them.”
According to the OPD, swatting calls are widespread but difficult to trace down. If the caller uses a landline or registered phone number, the call can be traced back to the original location where it was made.
However, if a faked phone number is used, determining the origin of the call becomes difficult. When a call is placed to 9-1-1, OPD must react each time, regardless of how many times they have visited the same spot.
George feels he knows who is making the calls, and with Christmas approaching, he wants the misery to end.
“Regardless of who this is, I just want it to stop. I want my family to be at peace so that we can enjoy our holidays; all we want is for it to stop because it has grown crazy,” George added.
According to the OPD, if you are a victim of swatting, make sure the responding officer records a report each time. It could help create a paper trail and possibly catch the person making the calls.