Victims of celebrity ‘swatting’

Comedian Russell Brand's Hollywood home is reportedly the latest target of celebrity "swatting," in which false 911 calls are made reporting incidents at celebrities' homes. Los Angeles police went to Brand's home at 3:35 p.m. on Monday, April 8, in response to a call about an armed man being at his residence, but determined it was a "fraudulent call." The officer who responded said she didn't know if Brand was home at the time.

On April 4, Rihanna's Pacific Palisades residence was reportedly implicated in another celebrity "swatting" incident. According to the Los Angeles Times, a caller told law enforcement officials that someone had been shot inside her home. Officials quickly figured out that the call was another hoax.

Police visited Chris Brown's Hollywood Hills home on Monday after a call about an alleged domestic violence incident. Brown wasn't home, according to KTLA.

The Kardashian household was targeted on January 18. "Just got a call from my mom telling me about this prank call that someone was shot in their home & 15 swat team & 3 helicopters showed up!" Kim Kardashian tweeted. "These prank calls are NOT funny! People can get arrested for this! I hope they find out who is behind this. Its dangerous & not a joke!"

On January 17, police visited Tom Cruise's home after receiving a call that an armed robbery was in progress, according to a Beverly Hills Police Department press release. Like Brown, Cruise was not home when the police arrived.

The Los Angeles Times reported in December that Charlie Sheen's home was among the celebrity residences "swatted" in recent months.

In October, Justin Bieber reportedly fell victim to a celebrity "swatting" prank. After searching his home, police determined that the call was a hoax.

Days earlier, police were notified of an alleged home invasion robbery at Ashton Kutcher's house via a teletext message rather than a 911 call, according to TMZ. Kutcher later tweeted, "Safe an sound at two and a half men."

TMZ reported that Miley Cyrus' house was swarmed in August after police received a call about a possible home invasion. Of course, it turned out to be another false alarm.