MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — A 17-year-old from Monroe County is facing multiple charges relating to swatting calls made across the country as well as possession of child porn.
Pennsylvania State Police say they were contacted by the Collin County Sheriff's Office out of Texas in regards to "swatting calls." "Swatting" is when a person contacts emergency services to report a crisis, but it is just a ruse to get the police to respond to a seemingly random location.
Through investigating, which included digital forensics, The Sheriff's Office in Texas established Jackson Township, Pennsylvania, as the place where the calls were made from April 5th.
According to Collin County officials, a swatting call was made from someone saying that he had shot and killed his mother and was going to either kill himself or do it by means of suicide by cop.
Multiple law enforcement agencies in that part of Texas responded to a home in Princeton, Texas. In total, 32 peace officers, EMS, and firefighters arrived at the Meadow Creek Drive home.
Princeton Police Department says the homeowner was contacted and was not dead but very much alive.
Pennsylvania State Police say in a news release that on May 2, with assistance from investigators from the Collin County Sheriff's Office, they served a search warrant on the Monroe County, Pennsylvania home.
On the juvenile's computer, a total of nine swatting calls were found to be made to Texas, Florida, Oregon, California, Tennessee, and Kentucky, as well as other locations across the country.
In addition to those calls, child pornography was discovered on the teen's computer.
The 17-year-old male was taken into custody.
A juvenile petition has been filed against him with charges of possession of child pornography, false alarms, false reports, and possession of instruments of a crime.
The teen is being held at the Bucks County Juvenile Detention Center while he awaits his preliminary hearing.
This investigation is ongoing, and we will provide more details as they become available.
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