KTLA

Black Lives Matter leader targeted in 3rd ‘swatting’ incident

Melina Abdullah speaks during a demonstration to support Black Lives Matter protests on June 6, 2020 in Beverly Hills. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Melina Abdullah, a prominent protest leader and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, was the target of a third “swatting” incident at her home Wednesday evening — the second one in the last week.

Abdullah was not home at the time but said multiple neighbors alerted her to a large police presence on her block. One FaceTimed her, she said, and she could see police vehicles and officers with their guns drawn outside her home.

Capt. Stacy Spell, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman, confirmed the response and said it followed a 911 call about 5:45 p.m. from a person who falsely claimed he had kidnapped Abdullah at gunpoint.

Because of the “serious nature” of the call and threats the caller made to “do harm” to Abdullah, the department dispatched six police units and a supervisor to the scene — all left “shortly after it was determined that no one’s safety was in danger,” Spell said.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.