White House targeted in 'swatting'-style event: police

The White House on Monday was the target of a "swatting"-style event in which a caller dialed 911 and falsely claimed that there was a fire in the building and that someone was trapped inside.

NBC News reports that the call was made early on Monday morning, which resulted in multiple units from the District of Columbia's Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department responding to the scene.

After responding to the scene, officials determined that the call had been a false alarm, and a spokesperson for the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said that the call was "in the same spirit" as "swatting" events where a prankster makes a false claim about an emergency taking place at a victim's address to get a SWAT team to show up at their house.

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President Joe Biden was not in the White House when the call was made but was instead at Camp David.

As of noon Monday, police say they have no idea who placed the call.