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The juvenile living in Maryland was charged on Thursday, Feb. 22 by the Stamford Police.
According to Capt. Eugene Dohmann of the Stamford Police Department, swatting is a term used to describe the act of reporting a false critical incident to cause a massive response by emergency service personnel.
The first incident occurred on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, when officers responded to a home on Southfield Avenue on a report of a bomb threat, Dohmann said.
This was determined to be a swatting incident, the captain said.
"This call was the start of many emergency calls at this residence," Dohmann said. "Over the next several months, this address would be swatted five different times."
The details included cries for help with limited information, an active shooter, and a home invasion involving a firearm.
During this same time, Stamford Police dispatch received four emergency calls concerning Stamford High School. These swatting incidents involved the threat of an active shooter or a student with a firearm, and an explosive device hidden in the school, Dohmann said.
"On each occasion, emergency personnel deemed that there was no credible threat and thus these were swatting incidents," he said. "These incidents required a massive response including our bomb squad, K9 Units, plain cloths units, Fire, and EMS."
The incidents involving Stamford High School forced the school to be placed into lockdown on five different occasions.
As these incidents were investigated, it was determined that the reasoning stemmed from the online gaming feud between juveniles, Dohmann said.
The juvenile, who was not identified due to his age, was charged with:
- Seven counts of threatening
- Seven counts of conspiracy at threatening
- 11 counts of misuse of the emergency 911 System
- 11 counts of falsely reporting an incident
"Investigators, James Muhlbauer, Brian Donahue, and Michael Stempien are commended for their determination and relentless work on identifying the suspect in this case," he added.
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