2 teens, one from Florida, paid with crypto, accused in national swatting hoaxes: What we know
SHALIMAR — In a joint press conference on Thursday, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office and Okaloosa County School District shared the findings from the investigation of the swatting incident on Nov. 3 at Baker School.
The OCSO has said two teenagers, both 14, were responsible for the hoax. One student was an online student in Baker, while the other was in Mansfield, Texas, a small town in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
They have been arrested. Due to the ages of the two individuals, the Northwest Florida Daily News will not publish their names.
Here is what we know:
Timeline of the investigation
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said this investigation has been ongoing the past five months and is still in progress.
On July 21, authorities received a tip that the Baker suspect was a residential swatting call victim. While the investigation of that case was ongoing, four days later, on July 25, authorities received a call about another swatting incident from law enforcement officials in Ewing, New Jersey.
Department officials then began to look into that event and interviewed the Baker suspect. He denied any involvement in that New Jersey case.
While the investigations were ongoing, the OCSO executed a search and seizure of the Baker suspect's phone. During that process, it was found that the Baker suspect also was involved with swatting calls in Buckeye, Arizona. (Swatting is making a prank call that sends law enforcement to the scene of false emergency, such as a school shooting.)
On Nov. 9, six days after the Baker/Crestview incident, enough probable cause was found to implicate the suspect in these swatting calls across the country.
He was arrested and charged with multiple felony counts of fraud, false reporting of a violent crime, two counts of use of two-way communication to facilitate a felony and two counts of misusing 911.
After reviewing more legal documents, investigators had evidence that tied the Baker suspect to another swatting call in Clayton, Indiana. This led to additional charges.
Baker/Crestview incident
At 8:46 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, the Crestview Police Department received a call on the non-emergency line that an individual was attempting to commit a mass shooting event at Baker School.
The call was made in Texas. It apparently was made in response to an open message the Baker suspect had posted in an online chat room.
According to Sheriff Aden, the Texas suspect heeded the request for a swatting call and at one point attempted to find the contact information for the Baker School.
Both teens are part of a national swatting group called "LulzSEC" and use cryptocurrency to commit swatting calls across the United States and Canada, authorities said during the news conference. The Texas teen was paid over $5,000 in cryptocurrency to carry out the swatting call.
After he failed to find the Baker School information, the Texas suspect called the Crestview Police Department with a "detailed script" informing law enforcement officials of what was happening.
This led to a law enforcement response both to Baker School and Crestview High. Unknown to law enforcement officials at the time, the target was Baker, not Crestview.
“The hoax call led to a massive, immediate and intense response by law enforcement and other emergency responders, sending fear through the entire community and taking them away from potential legitimate emergencies,“ Aden said in a news release. “This crime is no prank. It has real and dangerous consequences."
After OCSO officials contacted law enforcement officials in Mansfield, Texas, a phone interview with the suspect's mother confirmed the identity of the caller.
On Dec. 16, enough probable cause was found to secure a warrant for the arrest of the Texas teen. The OCSO is currently awaiting extradition to Okaloosa County. According to Aden, there is a high likelihood that the suspect will be tried as an adult in this case.
The Texas suspect will be charged with a second-degree felony that is punishable by up to a 15-year prison sentence. His charges include a false report of a violent crime, use of two-way communication to commit a felony and interference with school administrative charges.
On Nov. 9, six days after the Baker/Crestview incident, the Baker suspect conducted another swatting call to Houston, authorities allege. The suspect was charged with extortion and false reporting of planting a bomb, among other charges.
“In our School District, the safety of our students and staff is the number one priority. I could not be more proud of our students, teachers, staff, principals and parents for how they reacted to the events that unfolded at Baker and Crestview Schools,” School Superintendent Marcus Chambers said in a release. “I want to express my gratitude for the patience and understanding of the parents and all the first responders who reacted swiftly and worked diligently to bring this individual to justice. We will not tolerate any behavior, hoax or otherwise, that has the potential to threaten the safety of our schools.”
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Florida swatting 14-year-old boys, 1 from Florida, 1 from Texas, charged
