An apparent “swatting” incident late Tuesday night, July 4, sent a large number of police officers to a Barrington home.

At about 8:50 p.m., Barrington Police received a 911 call from a mental health clinician at the Providence Center. The clinician said a woman had called the Center’s suicide hotline, claimed to have a gun and was “ready to die.” 

The woman allegedly told the clinician that she was inside a home on Haines Park Road in Barrington, police said. The Barrington Police dispatcher also made contact with the woman — the unidentified female voice repeated that she had a gun and was going to harm herself. Police said the call did not come from a 401 area code.

Officers quickly responded to the Haines Park Road residence. The first officers on scene reported that there were no lights on at the home and no car in the driveway. 

Police eventually tracked down contact information for the homeowners — police called the homeowner, who said they were not at home and no one should be there. 

East Providence Police officers set up a perimeter around the home, while Barrington Police officers entered the house and completed a full check of the interior. 

“We went through, room by room, and no one was there,” said Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia. 

According to the police dispatch report, officers also checked the nearby woods at Haines Park and later deployed a drone to search the park. 

They did not locate anyone. 

“This is an ongoing investigation at this time to determine the origin of the caller and their whereabouts, to most importantly check their well-being and provide them with the help they need,” stated a press release from the Barrington Police Department. 

Chief Correia said the incident was possibly a case of swatting — where someone places a phony emergency call with a police department. Earlier this year, police received a swatting call for a fake emergency at the high school. 

Chief Correia said the FBI may be establishing a database for swatting calls nationwide, in response to an increase officials have recognized recently. 

Barrington Police are still investigating the July 4 call. 

“We would like to thank officers from the East Providence Police Department and members of the Barrington Fire Department for their professionalism and assistance,” stated the press release.