The Leelanau County Sheriff's Office has not confirmed the origins of a swatting hoax 9-1-1 call that left several law enforcement agencies barreling toward Glen Arbor Wednesday responding to a false active shooter situation in the parking lot of Cherry Republic and surrounding businesses.
Leelanau County Sheriff Mike Borkovich wouldn’t confirm its origins, but a form of artificial intelligence (AI) is not out of the question.
Borkovich said law enforcement is exploring whether the 9-1-1 call was made by AI with or without a person, a deranged individual, foreign actors or a combination of all three.
A phone number that belonged to a deceased man was traced back to a surrounding county, according to Borkovich.
The incident remains under investigation.
Potential charges one could face if they make a threat of violence include:
• Communicating a threat of terrorism, a 20-year felony;
• Calling in a bomb threat, a 4-year felony; and
• Malicious use of a telecommunications device, a 6-month misdemeanor.
Swatting could result in the following charges:
• False report of a crime, a 93-day misdemeanor;
• False report resulting in physical injury, a 5-year felony;
• False report resulting in a serious bodily impairment, a 10-year felony; and/or
• False report resulting in a death, a 15-year felony.
A person operating an AI would face these same penalties. But if a rogue AI does this on its own, no law is on the books.
Updated at 1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 24
A swarm of law enforcement was dispatched to Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor after a 9-1-1 call reported a parking lot dispute that had falsely escalated into a shooting of an 8-year-old female in the neck at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office.
“It was determined in a very short time that the original call was a “swatting” or hoax type of call. No other known incidents of any kind were reported during this entire time within the county,” Leelanau County Sheriff Mike Borkovich said in a press release.
As a result of the call, Glen Lake and the Leelanau School were temporarily placed into “secure” mode.
Law Enforcement units arrived on scene and immediately searched the area for victims, witnesses, and/or suspects, but found no unusual activity.
“We got a call that a little girl had been shot; when we got there, there was no victim. There wasn’t much for us to do; I imagine the police are handling it now and trying to figure out who called,” Glen Arbor Township Fire Chief Bryan Ferguson said.
Cherry Republic HQ Executive Assistant Rebecca Benedict said she walked into the Public House on the restaurant campus and saw state police and fire trucks lining up across the road.
“There was an unfounded claim that somebody heard a gunshot,” she said.
Benedict credited the staff with their calm response and said it didn’t drastically affect the business day.
“Everybody’s going about their day and enjoying the sunshine,” Benedict said.
An explosion of police radio chatter had agencies from across northwest Michigan scrambling toward Glen Arbor, including Glen Lake Fire Department, along with numerous Law Enforcement units from the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office, National Park Service, and the Michigan State Police.
