Page 3 - The Friday Flyer ● JUNE 22, 2018

JUNE 22, 2018 THE FRIDAY FLYER A-3

PHOTO BY JOE KAMASHIAN PHOTO BY DAVID TORKELSON

Call to police prompts Canyon Lake lock down

On the morning of Thursday, June 14, all Canyon were deployed to Canyon Lake, Perris Station investi- has always turned out to be a hoax.
Lake access gates closed, leaving vehicles restricted gators determined the call was a prank, which has been One such hoax turned deadly in January of this
from entering and leaving the community. The lock commonly referred to as “swatting.” The occupants of year after a California resident made such a call to
down was prompted by a call to the Riverside County the residence were not involved and were unharmed. the Wichita Police Department in Kansas. During that
Sheriff’s Department non-emergency line from an in- The term “swatting” emerged across the country “swatting” call, Wichita officers fatally shot a 28-year
dividual claiming to be holding hostages at gunpoint several years ago after several individuals began mak- old Kansas man. The suspect in that case was tracked,
inside a residence at the 22000 block in Canyon Lake. ing crank calls to law enforcement claiming a danger- identified, placed under arrest and charged with invol-
According to the Riverside Sheriff’s Department, the ous and deadly situation was in-progress at a specific untary manslaughter. His trial is currently pending.
man made serious allegations and demands of the po- location. The swatter’s goal was to cause a large con- At this time, the Riverside Sheriff’s Department will
lice. tingency of armed officers to converge on a location not say if the call was from an adult or child, nor will
Shortly after numerous deputies and police officers and take an aggressive approach to the situation, which they confirm if the call came from someone inside or
outside of Canyon Lake.
The incident had hundreds of Canyon
Lake residents taking to social media
sites to share their thoughts on this in-
cident.
“I counted 18 police cars, 1 helicop-
ter, two ambulances for motorcycles and
two fire trucks. This is some prank,” said
Gary Markel.
“Whatever the case, I commend our
first responders for their flawless re-
sponse. May God bless and protect
them,” said Ruth Martin.
“It was terrible. I couldn’t get out to
go get my kid who was getting out of
day camp. I had no way to get in touch
with him. It was a bit unnerving to have
all our entrances and exits blocked off,”
PHOTO BY DONNA RITCHIE regarding this investigation is encour-
posted Kellie Welty.
Anyone with additional information

aged to contact Sergeant Curt Harris at
the Perris Sheriff’s Station at 951-210-
1000.
Residents urged to sign up for CodeRED alerts

The City of Canyon Lake has phones and send emails.
an emergency notification system The CodeRED calling system
called CodeRED, which will alert draws on a database of 180 mil-
each resident by phone or e-mail PHOTO BY CITY OF CL lion names and phone numbers
in the event of an emergency and from across the United States.
important city news. But there is no guarantee that ev-
Although residents can opt not contamination, utility outage, evacua- 50,000 phone numbers per hour and ery Canyon Lake resident is in
to receive emergency notifications, city tion notice, missing person, road clo- delivering a recorded message to a per- this database. That is why city officials
officials urge residents to participate. sures, fires, floods, bomb threats, hos- son or an answering machine. The sys- urge residents to take a few minutes and
The ultra-high-speed telephone com- tage situations, chemical spills and gas tem is ideal for residents who may not sign up for the service. To sign up, visit
munication service allows the city to leaks where rapid and accurate notifica- be watching television or listening to the city’s website at cityofcanyonlake.
telephone all or targeted areas in case tion is essential for public safety. the radio when an emergency message org and click on the Emergency Notifi-
of an emergency, such as drinking water The system is capable of dialing is issued. The system can also call cell cation tab.

THE FRIDAY FLYER

Volume 37 Number 25 Publisher......................................................Chuck Golding Production Assistant.....................Al Van Beenen, ext. 233
The Friday Flyer (USPS 006-865) is published weekly every Editor...............................................Donna Ritchie, ext. 228 Office Manager/Classifieds ................Gina Wells, ext. 221
Friday by GOLDING PUBLICATIONS, 31558 Railroad Canyon Reporter..........................................................Jill Torkelson Mailroom ..........................................Kelli Fischer, ext. 235
Road, Canyon Lake, CA 92587 (244-1966). The appearance of Teen Columnists....... Spencer Massicot , Nova Blanco-Rico Annual weekly subscription rates are $10.90 a year for subscriptions
advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, Columnists.......................................Ron and Leigh Martel, mailed within the County of Riverside and $74.90 all others.
does not constitute endorsement of the advertised products,
services or opinions by GOLDING PUBLICATIONS. GOLDING Betty Williams, Pat Van Dyke, Kerry Keith, Kellie Welty, Periodical Postage Paid at Perris, California.
PUBLICATIONS claims no liability for said advertisements. Dave Dain, Weatherman Pat Elliano
Sales Manager.................................Greg Golding, ext. 232 Postmaster: Send address changes to THE FRIDAY FLYER, 31558
Newspaper Office ........................................951-244-1966 Advertising Executive.............................Marti Norris, ext. 226 Railroad Canyon Road, Canyon Lake, CA 92587.
FAX ..............................................................951-244-2748 Advertising Executive.......................Lynda Hoffman, ext. 223 ©2018—All contents copyrighted by Golding Publications.
E-mail (articles)................ news@goldingpublications.com Advertising Executive..........................MG Morrison, ext. 224
E-mail (ads) .......................ads@goldingpublications.com Production Manager..............................Mary Visger, ext. 231