ROGERS CITY — The Rogers City Police Department says it and other agencies responded on Thursday to what turned out to be a false “swatting” incident at a home on South Second Street in Rogers City.

At about 8 p.m. Thursday, police received a call from someone who claimed to have stabbed his mother and who said he had a firearm ready to shoot any law enforcement who responded to the home.

However, when police arrived at the residence and spoke to the people there, they determined the report was false.

While the incident remains under investigation, police believe someone obtained a Rogers City address while playing an online video game with someone on South Second and then called in the false report to try to elicit a big police response.

Such false reports, intended to evoke a massive police response, are known as “swatting.”

“These dangerous pranks endanger lives and divert critical resources away from real emergencies,” the Rogers City Police Department said in a statement on Friday.

“The Rogers City Police Department is currently working to identify the individual for this act which if located will lead to severe legal consequences,” the statement said.

The Presque Isle County Sheriff’s Office, Huron Undercover Narcotics Team, the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, and the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post assisted the Rogers City Police Department.