Swatting incident prompted shelter-in-place order in Marine City, sheriff's office says

A swatting incident spurred a shelter-in-place order for part of Marine City, Michigan, on Sunday night, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office.

Dispatchers received a report from a caller shortly around 6:18 p.m. of "a potential gunman who had taken hostages," Justin Westmiller, St. Clair County emergency management director, said. The caller added that the gunman had a list of demands and would start shooting people if they weren't met. 

"He [the caller] was using what we think is like a YouTube camera to try and make the call more realistic," Westmiller said. "We did shut that camera down so people couldn't get to it for a period of time."

Law enforcement could be seen going into a multi-story building in the area on Sunday night.

"While we were thinking it was a swatting call, we wanted to ensure that there was nobody injured and there wasn't a gunman barricaded," Westmiller said.

The sheriff's office said the shelter-in-place order has since been lifted and no one was shot.

The county said several police departments, at least one fire crew and one emergency medical service vehicle responded to the call in addition to personnel with the sheriff's office.

"There's a lot of resources here, and, as I was saying earlier, it's a giant waste of resources that could be out in the public helping other folks who may be hurt or injured or need some sort of service," Westmiller said.

Law enforcement is working to learn who is responsible for the swatting incident.

According to Michigan law, an individual who makes a false report of crime that doesn't end in harm could spend up to four years in prison and pay a maximum fine of $2,000.