A Milwaukee sci-fi author says he’s been threatened by an online cyber stalker, sending the police to his home with a fake 911 call.

This is a potentially dangerous prank known as swatting.

At 1 a.m. three weeks ago, after receiving a call from someone claiming to be Tomlinson, police came to Patrick Tomlinson’s East Side Milwaukee home with a gun.

“Used my name. Used this address. They said I just killed my wife and they picked me up and they did,” Tomlinson told WISN 12 News.

Home security video shows Tomlinson being handcuffed outside in a bathrobe as police search his home. But the emergency call was a hoax to send the police home.

“It’s something that evokes a very lively, energetic shootout-like reaction,” Tomlinson said.

Milwaukee Police have confirmed a false alarm to the home.

Tomlinson said it was the third time in the past two years that such a false report, or swatting call, had been sent to his home. He said it happened again, a fourth time, two weeks later.

“Six uniformed Milwaukee police officers were banging on our door. ‘I was receiving,'” Tomlinson said of recent events. incident.

Tomlinson says his online comments four years ago that he disliked certain comedians are what made him a target for certain online communities, and beyond the bashing incident, he continues his relentless cyberattacks. rice field.

He believes it wasn’t his outspoken political views online or his science fiction writing that led to the virus threats from anonymous attackers.

“They don’t care about stuff like that,” said Tomlinson. “They’re just interested in hurting people. Their idea of ​​fun is about ruining lives from afar.”

Wisconsin law calls the crime “swatting,” but Milwaukee police call it “emergency false reporting.”

Police told WISN 12 News that six such cases were reported in Milwaukee this year.