Helicopters, cops swarm rapper's home

P Diddy is the latest swatting victim. Picture: Splash Source: news.com.au

A DOZEN police cars and two helicopters swarmed rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs's Hollywood house after the LAPD received a call saying there had been a shooting on the property.

The call was a hoax, making Combs the latest victim along with Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton and others of a serial celebrity prank.

The hoax craze has been called "swatting" after the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams who have have responded to the fake crimes.

Armed officers swooped upon the 43-year-old rapper's mansion and secured the neighbouring property of  comedian and actor Steve Carell, before searching the property and finding no gunman or victim, according to TMZ.com.

Last week, a similar incident happened at Paris Hilton's home and in January a caller told police an armed robbery was taking place at Tom Cruise's Beverly Hills house.

Also in January, a team of 15 SWAT police and three helicopters showed up at the Kardashian family's California house following a hoax call claiming a shooter was inside.

Hoaxters have also lured LA police to the homes of Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus' family and hip hop artist, Chris Brown.

A 12-year-old boy has been charged with making fake 911 calls about the homes of Bieber and Ashton Kutcher, whose house was stormed by poluce who believed it had been overrun by assailants with guns and explosives.

An LAPD spokesman said the craze was dangerous for the home owners.

"What if someone came out of the house abruptly and didn't heed the officers? They might have been hurt."

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Shooting outside rapper's bus kills one

A driver opened fire on a crowd of people surrounding the tour bus of rapper French Montana, pictured centre in a photo he posted to Twitter, captioned "tour bus life".

A DRIVER opened fire on a crowd of people surrounding the tour bus of rapper French Montana after a concert in Philadelphia, killing one person and injuring another, according to police.

The shooting happened around 11.30 pm Thursday as the entourage had arrived at a hotel near Penn's Landing after the rapper had headlined a sold-out show at the Theatre of Living Arts. Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Scott Small said a crowd formed around the bus, a car pulled up and someone began shooting.

"A large crowd of fans, as well as some of the entourage, were loitering and just hanging out," Inspector Small told reporters. He said one man may have fired back.

A 27-year-old man was hit in the abdomen and later pronounced dead at a hospital; another man was hit in the shoulder. Their names haven't been released.

Investigators were still questioning several people about the shooting Friday, but no arrests were announced, said Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman. Investigators said they don't think the rapper or his entourage were targeted and neither victim appeared to be with the rapper's group.

The Moroccan-born rapper, who is scheduled to play Brighton Music Hall in Boston on Friday night, posted a photo on Twitter showing a police officer interviewing a person after the shooting. He also posted photos of himself with Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill at the show. The New York artist is touring to promote his upcoming debut album, Excuse My French, which features Nicki Minaj.

Last month, three people were killed and five injured in a shootout and crash on the Las Vegas strip; police think that shootout may have started as an argument at the valet area of the upscale Aria resort-casino the same night French Montana was playing at Aria's signature nightclub, Haze.

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