Police Confirm Shooter Was a "Swatting" Hoax at Huntley Hotel after SWAT Team Dispersal

May 10, 2023 - At 2:10 pm, Twitter user @heyelliday reported that a SWAT team was in the lobby of the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. The tweet reads: "potential active shooter situation at huntley hotel in santa monica. friend stuck in lobby with swat team. i just got in my car seconds before swat team surrounded entrance. i drove off after getting permission from officer with rifle 3 feet from my car.” She tweeted the information to ABC7, FOXLA, and NBCLA.

A higher end travel destination, the Huntley Hotel is located at 1111 2nd Street in Santa Monica, near the Third Street Promenade.

At 3:30 pm the Santa Monica PD tweeted: “Fake Active Shooter Call Elicits Large #SantaMonica Police Response

“Earlier this afternoon, the City of Santa Monica's Dispatch Center received a 9-1-1 call claiming multiple people had been injured in an active shooter incident near 2nd and California. The first SMPD officers arrived on scene in under 4 minutes with multiple units arriving shortly thereafter.”

“It was determined the call was a hoax. Thankfully, there were no injuries and no shots fired.

Swatting is a deceptive call to emergency services personnel resulting in a police response when there is no true crime or emergency. This behavior is akin to making a false police report and is illegal.”