One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Crank Caller Sends Cops to Check Out Miley Cyrus Kidnapping
Miley Cyrus in West Hollywood, July 2012 (Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com)
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department showed up to Miley Cyrus' Studio City home Wednesday evening with their guns drawn and a chopper hovering overhead, following a call reporting a possible home invasion and kidnapping. Only...no one was home, and the call was a prank.
The LAPD say they received the 911 report of "a kidnapping and a shooting" just before 6:50 p.m., according to City News Service, but it took about a half hour for them to figure out the whole thing was a hoax.
This kind of hoax is called "swatting," notes TMZ, who explain it's a prank that aims to get law enforcement out--especially the SWAT team--in response to an alleged serious crime.
LAPD Officer Karen Rayner says the cops don't take these kinds of pranks lightly, and if the caller is found, they could face severe penalties. TMZ adds the caller could be arrested, and, in a case where someone was hurt or killed as a result of the prank, "the caller could even face felony charges."
We aren't sure where Miley was last night, but she wasn't getting any rest, according to her Twitter feed:
i don't sleep
— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) August 2, 2012
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
