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A 911 call claiming a domestic murder, rape and kidnapping initially sent Weber County sheriff's deputies rushing to a home in West Haven.

However, before the three lawmen arrived at the residence in the 4700 West block of 3900 South, they learned the call was bogus.

Sheriff's Lt. Lane Findlay said the 9:30 p.m. Thursday incident was a case of "swatting," or attempting to trick an emergency response to a destination.

Motives for the practice, which is plaguing 911 dispatchers nationwide, range from pranks to personal vendettas — and the latter seems to be the case for the West Haven family.

In Thursday's case, the caller claimed to be a 15-year-old boy who said he had "shot his father, was holding his mother hostage, and had sexually assaulted his sister," Findlay said.

The caller also claimed to have rigged the home's front door with explosives, and threatened to "shoot it out with the police when they arrived."

"While en route, they were advised that a similar call had been received by a police department in West Haven, Connecticut," Findlay said.

The deputies soon confirmed all was well at the residence, where occupants invited them in to confirm the call was indeed a hoax, and the county SWAT team was never mobilized.

The incident is thought to be connected with a possible computer hacking report at the same home on March 23.

In that case, the perpetrator threatened to release personal family information, and specifically mentioned the possibility of calling SWAT on them.

The suspect went so far as to order a pizza delivery to the home, using the name of a family member.

"All of this appears to have originated from some contact a juvenile family member had with the suspect on-line. The juvenile had been involved in an on-line gaming group before problems started occurring," Findlay said.

The incidents are under investigation by sheriff's detectives and Internet crime experts.

It won't likely be easy. Swatters often use calling services via the Internet, spoofing their origins over numerous servers to avoid identification.