Overview
- Fairfax County officers responded to a non-emergency report of gunshots at a Supreme Court justice’s residence on Wednesday night and quickly concluded the call was a swatting attempt after meeting the security detail.
- Freelance photographer Andrew Leyden posted redacted police dispatch audio on Thursday that records dispatchers warning the call could be swatting and instructing units to coordinate with the home’s security team.
- Fairfax police said the call came through the department’s non-emergency line, no additional police resources were deployed, and officers determined the report was fictitious on scene.
- Authorities have not publicly identified or arrested a suspect, and the Falls Church Police Department said it did not receive or respond to the call, raising questions about where the call originated and which agency has jurisdiction.
- The episode fits a pattern of threats against justices and their families since 2022, highlights the danger of swatting—false emergency reports meant to provoke armed responses—and underscores challenges in tracing and prosecuting callers who use non-emergency lines or cross jurisdictions.