11-Year-Old Children Accused Of Making More Than 20 Swatting Calls To Schools In Florida

Illustration of SAWT troops in the US (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - An 11-year-old boy from Virginia has been indicted in Florida after making more than 20 calls to the state, especially targeting schools. Until now, it remains unclear whether the child has links to Florida or the reason he chose victims in the state.

The swab call first reported to have taken place on May 14 when the boy targeted Buddy Taylor Middle School at Palm Coast, Florida, according to a press release from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. The boy made more than 20 calls the following week to various schools in Florida, including First Baptist Christian Academy, Flagler Palm Coast High School, Old Kings Elementary School, and Suncoast Community School.

Swatting is an attempt to trigger a large police response at the victim's location by calling an emergency service and claiming there was a very violent or dangerous situation at the location. For example, often the perpetrators claim to have killed several family members and would kill more, provide target locations to hotspots.

The purpose of the sampling is to surprise or scare the victim, often in ways that result in a fully armed team or police officer being sent to that location. This could cause major disruption, put innocent people in danger, and consume valuable emergency resources. Swating is an illegal and very dangerous act that could have serious legal consequences for the perpetrators

According to local authorities, in this case, the child made threats about bombs placed in various locations, threatening to carry out mass shootings, or stating that a teacher or student had been shot.

The child reportedly admitted a swab call after the Interior Security Section of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office managed to track down the identity of the caller. The authorities interviewed the child, who seemed to have learned how to hide his identity online. Although it is not clear how the police found him, they noted that the voice pattern analysis was used after an initial interview to compare the child's phone call and voice. The child also allegedly admitted to making threats to the Maryland State Building, in addition to schools in Florida.

The child was eventually arrested in Virginia on 14 counts of criminal acts of false reports regarding the placement of bombs, 14 charges of illegal use of two-way communication tools, one criminal charge of changing evidence, and 14 charges of violating school function disorders. He is now being held at a child detention facility in Virginia, and the State Lawyer's Office has reportedly cooperated with authorities in Virginia to transfer him to Florida.

"As schools start in less than a month, I know that the status of this investigation is the main concern of our society, which is why our detectives never stop working to find people responsible for terror against students, parents, teachers and our community," Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement published online. "This child behavior is increasing and becoming more dangerous."

The child's name has been released but the media chose not to share it. The decision to make multiple calls smoking is very stupid and dangerous, and hopefully this kid will eventually learn from his mistakes. However, he is still very young and it is hoped that this will not damage his life in a difficult way to fix, even though he faces very serious charges.