Lakewood violence threat doesn't appear to be credible, may be 'swatting' incident, authorities say

LAKEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- A social media post that threatened violence in the Lakewood area does not appear to be credible and is believed to be an incident of swatting, officials say.

The post was shared online Sunday, with social media users alleging that a resident of the city was threatening to carry out violence.

"The Sheriff's Department has told Lakewood city officials that they do NOT believe the threat is credible," city officials said in a Facebook post. "However, the Sheriff's Department is taking all appropriate steps to quickly address the threat and the person who may have made the social media post, which may not be the person identified in the post."

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department later said that their investigation determined the post was a possible swatting incident against the person named in the post.

"At this time, the person named in the post is not a suspect of this investigation," the department said, adding that the Lakewood Sheriff's station would continue to investigate and follow up on any leads.