Andrew Welcom of Coram charged in swatting calls

A Coram man has been arrested and accused of five instances of "swatting" — having police officers dispatched for false 911 calls — over the past two years, Suffolk police said.

Andrew Welcom, 34, told police emergency operators on Aug. 18 that a woman had been assaulted and, "any law enforcement officer that attempted to enter a Lake Ronkonkoma home to help her would be shot," a statement from police said.

Yet the officers who answered the call "found no one in the home was in danger and there were no problems in the house," the statement said.

Fourth Precinct Crime Section Officer Danielle Congedo then determined Welcom had made four similar 911 calls starting in November 2020, police said. 

"The calls all reported a suspicious person or crime and all were determined to be unfounded," the police said, adding that on at least one call Welcom said he was a New York City police officer.

Welcom has been charged with five counts of falsely reporting an incident and two counts of criminal impersonation. He was released on a desk appearance ticket and his arraignment will be held at a later date.

It was not immediately clear if he was represented by counsel.