ROME, Ga. (AP) — A motorist was killed as police responded to a bomb threat at the Georgia home of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, authorities said.
A police officer on the local bomb squad was traveling to the scene when he collided with another car on Monday, Rome police said in a statement. Greene identified the woman killed as Tammie Pickelsimer.
The emailed threat — which warned of a pipe bomb in Greene’s mailbox and referenced Palestine — was sent to the assistant police chief.
That touched off the police response, Greene said on social media. The source of the email was traced to a Russian internet address, she added.
It was the latest instance of a crime known as “swatting” in which false threats are made to draw first responders to her home, Greene said. She said it has happened to her at least nine times.
“These violent political threats have fatal consequences,” Greene said on the social media platform X, calling the crime a “despicable act.”
“The perpetrator of this crime has committed murder in our small community of Rome, Georgia,” she added.
The police officer was driving his personal vehicle to join the bomb squad on the call, police said. The officer was injured in the wreck, but the extent of his injuries was not immediately known Tuesday.
“I’m sick to my stomach, but I’m also angry,” Greene said. “This should have never happened and I pray it never happens again.”