‘That could have ended badly': Swatting call leaves Little Elm family fearful

For Robert Harris and his family, their relaxing Saturday afternoon was interrupted by banging on the door and their home surrounded by police.

“I didn't know what was happening,” Harris said. “I thought somebody was trying to break in our house at first.”

According to Little Elm Police’s Facebook page, they "responded to a 911 call reporting a violent situation on Winterberry Lane. The caller claimed to have shot a family member and threatened harm to others before abruptly hanging up.”

Surveillance video shows multiple officers at Harris’s door. One officer kicks the front door five times and shouts, “Police department!”

“We was in the living room, us and the kids watching TV, talking. And next thing I know, somebody was banging on my door like they were trying to get in,” Harris said. “I opened the door. I got like eight police officers with guns and stuff like that pointing at me, and I'm like, 'What?'”

Streets were blocked off, and officers with shields and long firearms were seen in the area.

The moments of fear and tension, however, eased seconds after Harris answered the door.

“I think we got a swatting call,” one officer is heard telling Harris in the surveillance video.

Harris walked out of his home with his hands up as officers explained the call they received. However, Harris said he worried about how his intent to protect his property and family could have escalated the situation.

“I was telling them, 'Hey, I'm licensed to carry. If I'd have come to the door thinking somebody was trying to break in my house, it could end badly for me,” Harris said. “I've been (treated) like a threat and I'm in my own house.”

Meanwhile, his wife, Krista Harris, allowed another officer to walk through the home.

“When I kind of peek around and see that it's police officers with AR-15s and shields and yeah, it just, I can't even describe all the things that went through my head at that moment,” Krista said.

Krista and Robert said they feared for their lives and worried about how the minors inside the home would react.

“For them to see all of that. The grandbaby, the 7-year-old, to see police officers with guns pointing at their pawpaw, that's, that's not cool,” Krista said.

The Little Elm Police Department posted on social media a warning to the community that swatting pranks are a misdemeanor and could result in a $4,000 fine. However, over the phone, a spokesperson for the department told NBC 5 on Monday that swatting calls have since increased in the area.

“I think it needs to be a felony, number one, because it's not a joke. People can very seriously get killed. And I think that's what they don't [get], especially if it's kids,” Krista said.

“Even if kids are making a prank and a joke, it's a serious matter,” Robert said.

The couple’s hope, they said, is now for this situation to serve as a lesson for fake callers as well as authorities. He hoped police could do a better job of vetting the call to avoid a potential tragedy.

“Why wouldn't you call us because our number is affiliated with Little Elm?” Robert said. “I feel like it could have been a better job investigating. You call the number they called in, it didn't answer. Guess what? Find out who lived there first, then call them people.”