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Swatting Bomb Threat Forces Large Response at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena

Officials declared the campus safe after calling in the FBI to trace a caller who said they belonged to the online network 764.

Overview

  • Police, fire and K-9 teams responded to an IP-linked call about 5:40 a.m. Friday that claimed explosives and armed attackers, triggering a four-hour search and an all-clear.
  • Huntington Hospital stayed open to staff and patients but closed to visitors, diverted incoming emergency cases and postponed elective appointments during the sweep.
  • Authorities classified the incident as swatting and the Pasadena Police Department has asked the FBI to help identify the caller and pursue criminal charges.
  • The FBI describes 764 as a violent online network that grooms and coerces minors and the group has been tied to hundreds of federal investigations and several recent arrests in Southern California.
  • Officials warned that swatting incidents drain law enforcement and fire resources and can disrupt care at critical centers like Huntington, which houses the San Gabriel Valley’s only Level II trauma unit.