Wake Forest family terrified after swatting incident sends dozens of law enforcement officers to their home

On Easter Sunday, Luke Reynolds looked outside his Wake Forest house to see more than a dozen emergency vehicles and law enforcement swarming his property.

Soon after, Reynolds found out he had been a victim of swatting.

Swatting is the result of a prank call intended to get a reaction from law enforcement.

Reynolds describes the moment he realized something wasn't right.

"I just had no idea what was going on at all," he said. "I was immediately terrified."

Reynolds said he was live streaming when he got a phone call from the Wake Forest Police Department telling him to come outside.

"They said, 'You need to come to your front door. There may be a suspect in your house [and] shots fired,'" he said.

Police said they responded to the home after receiving a 911 call describing a tragic situation, including a shooting inside the home and a barricade situation.

"We take those calls very seriously. We have no way of knowing that it is a prank at the time that it is happening. It is only after we get there and investigate that we realize," said Bill Crabtree, a spokesperson for the Wake Forest Police Department.

Police said there has been an increase in calls like this, and they are costly.

"It brings resources and attention away from people who need it," Crabtree said.

In addition, it's taken an emotional toll on the Reynolds family.

"My kids don't want to sleep in their beds; they are traumatized," he said. "People have gotten killed in SWAT incidents. I don't know why someone would want to do a prank this serious."

The Wake Forest Police Department is actively investigating the swatting incident.

Crabtree reminds people that the act of swatting is a crime.

"If you are convicted of this sort of thing, it will follow you. It will be on your record forever," Crabtree said.