Fourth Estate Staff
Corona, CA, United States (4E) – FBI officials have confirmed that they arrested a Colorado teenager as he allegedly made false bomb threats via calls to a California high school this month that resulted to classes to be cancelled .
According to reports, it was part of “swatting” pranks. The boy was not named because he is a juvenile. He was arrested at a house located in Colorado Springs. He reportedly called in the fake bomb threats to Centennial High School in Corona, California.
The swatting pranks as explained by FBI is a trend that is being followed by people who falsely report an emergency to the authorities. These emergencies then require a police response and most of the time, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams are those who respond.
FBI revealed that the teenager called in on September 8 and the following day saying that he planted explosives on the school campus. He used an alias when calling the Corona police. There was no bomb found in both of the days that the teenager allegedly called but on the second day, classes had to be canceled for precaution.
An investigation by federal agents and Corona police officials led them to the Colorado Springs residence where the teenager was arrested. The officials believe that he made similar threats to a high school in Las Vegas. Details about this have not been elaborated.
The FBI said in a statement, “Making false threats drains law enforcement resources and can cause significant distress or physical injury to first responders, victims, and their families.”
The chief of the Corona Police Department, Mike Abel, also released a statement saying, “The Corona Police Department takes threats to our schools very seriously and will devote all necessary resources to investigating threats to their full potential so that people who engage in these crimes can be held accountable.”
Since 2013, celebrities have been victims of swatting pranks such as Ashton Kutcher , Clint Eastwood, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Tom Cruise. These incidents prompted officials to make stricter punishments to those found guilty of swatting.
It remains unknown why the teenager targeted such schools and how he is related to them. There is no report yet as to what his punishment will be if proven guilty.
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