Police forces investigating whether teen was behind 3 'swatting' incidents
Three police forces are investigating whether an Ontario teen arrested Wednesday is behind "swatting" incidents dating back to February.
On Wednesday, OPP said the teen from New Tecumseth, Ont., faces four charges in total, including public mischief and sending false messages. The suspect cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
OPP officials couldn't say if the teen is connected to swatting incidents in Richmond Hill and Brampton, but said they are working with York and Peel region police to explore that possibility.
In a statement issued Thursday, OPP said, "We can't confirm whether this individual is connected with the York and Peel incidents recently covered in the media — but we can say that we are working collaboratively with those two respective police forces to see if there is any connection."
Peel Police said Thursday that the teen's arrest is "not believed to be related to their recent school swatting incident." They were referring to a Brampton school that was in lockdown and three others that were in hold-and-secure after receiving what they believed was a hoax call Tuesday.
And York Police say they haven't ruled out whether the arrest is related to an incident early Sunday morning. A full York police Emergency Task Force (ETF) team swept through a Richmond Hill home just before 6 a.m. after a caller said a man in the home had shot his family with an assault rifle.
