A chaotic scene unfolded at a crowded Southern California mall on Wednesday evening following a false emergency call that prompted a significant police presence, coinciding with two livestreamers documenting their day with a young supporter.
Kick streamers Zavalahimself and Amanda Solis were broadcasting their outing with a child inside a Journeys store at Westfield Santa Anita Mall when police swiftly entered around 5 p.m., brandishing rifles.
Authorities received a 911 call alleging that the individuals in the store were armed with firearms and explosives, planning to harm mall visitors.
During the livestream, the young girl expressed fear, saying, “I’m scared.”
Responding to the alarming report, the Arcadia Police Department and the Monrovia Police Department flooded the store, instructing everyone to lie on the ground.
All individuals in the store, including the streamers and the child they were accompanying, were briefly detained as law enforcement conducted a search. Video footage showed Solis being restrained.
No weapons were discovered.
Subsequently, Arcadia police confirmed that the call was a "swatting" incident, a dangerous hoax involving a fabricated emergency report to deploy heavily armed police to an unsuspecting target.
The intense reaction attracted a crowd of spectators within the mall, with a SWAT vehicle stationed outside the entrance.
In recent years, swatting incidents have increasingly targeted online personalities and gamers, sometimes resulting in fatal outcomes, as prank callers seek to provoke dramatic police interventions while victims are live on camera.
Authorities in Arcadia are working to identify the individual responsible for the false call.
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