Teenager solicits hit man to whack 7-year-old child

An Iowa teenager is accused of soliciting a hit man to whack a 7-year-old child for reasons that are unclear.

Police said an unidentified 17-year-old girl in Storm Lake, Iowa contacted the farcical web RentAHitman.com Friday with personal information about her intended target, including the child’s name and location, according to local station KTIV. The suspect reportedly logged onto the site twice before authorities were notified she was shopping for a button man.

A police officer pretending to be a paid assassin contacted the suspect Friday afternoon after the website notified authorities of the murder-for-hire attempt. She was taken into custody that afternoon after law enforcement determined the teen was serious about having the child killed. After being interviewed and having her phone searched, the teen was reportedly charged with felony solicitation to commit murder.

The target was never in actual danger or aware someone was trying to put a price on her head.

RentAHitman.com has been contacted on numerous occasions by people who aren’t in on the joke. A Pennsylvania woman was accused of using the site to put a hit on her ex-husband’s new wife and that woman’s 13-year-old daughter in December.

In 2020, a Michigan woman was arrested after logging on to have her ex-husband whacked in Tennessee. Police said she offered to pay $5,000 and travel expenses to an undercover cop who busted her instead.

And in April, an Air National Guardsman was arrested after reaching out to the site to see if they were hiring contract killers.

The site’s operator, who goes by “Guido Fanelli,” tweeted about the latest incident Monday.

“So this happened again,” he wrote alongside a link to a local report on the thwarted assassination attempt in western Iowa.

RentAHitman.com jokingly advertises itself as “your point and click solution” and promises its “100% HIPPA compliant” in accordance with the fictional “Hitman Information Privacy & Protection Act of 1964.”

The site offers free consultation and senior discounts.