Authorities revealed on Thursday that an 11-year-old boy from Virginia has been charged in Florida for making over 20 bomb and shooting threats to schools and other locations. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly emphasized that law enforcement had been diligently searching for the caller before the new school year began.
“This child’s behavior was increasingly dangerous,” Staly noted at a press conference. “I’m relieved we apprehended him before his actions escalated further and potentially harmed someone.”
Handcuffs used to hold hands of criminals or offenders
The term “swatting” refers to the act of making false emergency calls to dispatch a SWAT team or armed police to a specific location as a prank. Flagler County emergency services first received a bomb threat targeting Buddy Taylor Middle School on May 14, with additional threats occurring up until May 22. Flagler County is located in central Florida on the Atlantic coast.
Investigators traced the calls to a residence in Henrico County, Virginia, near Richmond. When local deputies searched the home this month, the 11-year-old resident confessed to making the Florida swatting calls and a threat against the Maryland State House. Further investigation revealed that the boy had also made similar threats in Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Alaska.
The boy faces 29 felony charges and 14 misdemeanors and is currently held in a Virginia juvenile detention center while arrangements are made for his extradition to Florida. The link between the boy and Florida remains unclear. In May, a 13-year-old in Florida was arrested for making a copycat threat to Buddy Taylor Middle School.
