Pennsylvania teen arrested in connection with East Lyme swatting incident
A 15-year-old Pennsylvania boy was arrested Tuesday on an active warrant in connection with a swatting incident at a condominium complex in East Lyme in August of 2022, according to the East Lyme police.
On Aug. 23, 2022, around 2:31 p.m., East Lyme police received a call from a caller reporting that his father may be dead from a shooting and that the shooter was his brother. The caller described the incident in detail and said his brother was searching the residence for him and his mother, who were both hiding.
The call triggered a “large-scale response” from East Lyme police and the Flanders Fire Department. Arriving officers established a perimeter and moved occupants of the complex to safe locations. The caller stayed on the line with dispatch for 11 minutes, where he provided a detailed account of the incident and the alleged gunman that was hunting him, before disconnecting the call. Officers then entered the unit and found it empty, police said.
Police identified this incident as a “swatting” call, a fake report of a crime or incident of violence to initiate a large-scale police response to an area.
Officers began an investigation into the call and issued multiple search and seizure warrants for technology companies. The phone call was determined to come through an app that generates a phone number to initiate a call. Police then traced the call to an IP address in Pennsylvania and identified the caller with the help of law enforcement in Pennsylvania.
Further investigation determined the caller was in an online gaming chat with others who also engaged in calls to businesses around the country, police said.
Based on the investigation, East Lyme police applied for a warrant through the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters in Waterford. The teen was arrested Tuesday and assigned a juvenile court date. He was charged with first-degree falsely reporting an incident, misuse of emergency 911 system, conspiracy to commit falsely reporting an incident, conspiracy to commit misuse of 911 system and disorderly conduct.
