A caller falsely reported to 911 dispatchers he had shot and killed his wife and was armed with an AR-15, prompting a police response and a shelter-in-place in Lakewood earlier this month.
The Lakewood Police Department, Crystal Lake Police Department and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 7 p.m. on March 3 to the 6100 block of Stonecastle Lane in Lakewood for a report of a person shot.
A police report obtained by Lake and McHenry County Scanner on Tuesday said an unknown subject called the Southeast Emergency Communications (SEECOM) 911 dispatch center to report he had killed his wife while threatening to kill himself.
The man said his wife had cheated on him and he was holding an AR-15 while his wife was dead on the back porch of their home.
He said he was putting the rifle in a bedroom drawer and provided other details to dispatchers, the report said.
Officers arrived and dispatchers connected a sergeant to the caller on the phone.
The subject said he would surrender and would be walking out from the rear of the house.
The report said the man became agitated with the police sergeant on the phone and said he did not want to be tackled to the ground by officers and would not come out.
He disconnected and officers tried calling him back multiple times but they received no answer.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department staged nearby and a police perimeter was established while roads in the subdivision were shut down.
Residents in the area were also notified to seek shelter and not come out of their homes, the report said.
Officers were able to see through the back windows that two people were having dinner and nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
The police department made contact with one of their residents by phone and both occupants came out of the house and were cooperative.
The report said both advised that they were the only occupants home and did not have any weapons. Officers performed a sweep of the home and found no signs of foul play.
The matter was ultimately determined to be a “swatting” incident and the phone number involved in the original call has a history of hoax emergency calls.
No suspects have been identified and the case has been closed pending further leads, according to the report.
The Lakewood Police Department did not respond to multiple inquiries from Lake and McHenry County Scanner earlier this month when contacted regarding the incident, leading to the FOIA request being submitted and the reports being released on Tuesday.