Grandmother rattled after swatting call

GASTONIA, N.C. — Officers stormed into the home of a Gastonia grandmother after someone told police she was holding children at gunpoint.

The police said it was a hoax.

The woman, who wasn’t home, told Channel 9′s Ken Lemon the fake call rattled her.

The same thing happened to another household on Lakeview Street on Monday.

A neighbor captured video of Gastonia police first trying to kick in Mary Smith’s front door and using a battering ram.

“That’s awful,” said Smith, who was at work during the incident.

Smith told Lemon that police told her they got a call about children held at gunpoint in her apartment.

The person who called the police said they heard a gunshot.

“I never have no police come over here and I have been here nine years,” she said.

The 71-year-old grandmother said she was stunned to see the damage.

“I got sad, and I was hurt,” she said.

Smith doesn’t understand why someone would make the false call to the police.

“I can’t believe somebody would do me like this,” she said.

Police said calls, such as this, waste valuable resources.

First responders who help people in real danger are tied up on fake calls.

It was reported that some of the calls are conducted online, making them difficult to trace.

Smith’s front door has been replaced.

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