Crime & Safety

Multi-State Swatting Incidents Tied To FL Teen: Wisconsin Police

A Sarasota teen will face charges related to swatting incidents in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana, Washington and Canada, police said.

A Sarasota teen will face charges related to swatting incidents — the false report of a crime — in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana, Washington and Canada, police said.
A Sarasota teen will face charges related to swatting incidents — the false report of a crime — in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana, Washington and Canada, police said. (Shutterstock)

SARASOTA, FL — An investigation has tied a Sarasota teenager to swatting incidents across several states — including Wisconsin, Washington, North Carolina and Indiana — as well as Ontario, Canada, authorities said.

Swatting is the act of falsely reporting a crime to elicit an emergency response from police, EMS or SWAT teams, according to the FBI.

After a false report was made about an active shooter at Portage High School in the Madison, Wisconsin metro area on Jan. 3, the Portage Police Department quickly determined there was no threat to the school.

Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Days later, police charged a 15-year-old girl from Columbia County, Wisconsin with making a terroristic threat, swatting and disorderly conduct, the department shared on its Facebook page.

Portage police continued to investigate the incident, working with law enforcement agencies across the United States, including the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, to identify a 15-year-old Sarasota boy who they say was also involved in the swatting incidents in Wisconsin and other states.

Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police believe the Florida teen and the 15-year-old girl arrested for the active shooter hoax know each other.

Working with these agencies, Portage police are “navigating the juvenile logistics of securing detention and the charging of terroristic threats and swatting" for the Sarasota boy, PPD wrote in a Facebook post.

The teen made swatting calls to both schools and homes in multiple states and Canada. The nature of the hoax calls included active shooters, bomb threats and death threats, Portage police said.

The investigation is active with assistance from local, state, federal and international law enforcement authorities.


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