Teen charged with swatting incidents in Florida expected in court

VANCOUVER – A 17-year-old Coquitlam boy is scheduled to make a court appearance today. He’s accused of calling in fake emergencies in Florida.

U.S. authorities say last September the boy called police saying he was going to shoot everyone at a high school. The police swat team responded and locked down the school for hours. Then in November, the same person allegedly called police to a home, saying he had just killed his parents, and would shoot officers who arrived.

The police swat team also responded to that call. The boy, who cannot be identified, is facing a number of charges.

According to the Polk County Sherriff’s Office (PCSO), their investigation began in September 2014 when an unidentified male called the PCSO and said he was going to Fort Mead High School and shoot everyone.

Polk County Sherriff Grady Judd told Global News that the teen believed he was in a dating relationship with a girl from the Fort Mead high school and when he wanted to advance the relationship, the girl declined. That’s when the 17-year-old Coquitlam boy allegedly “swatted” the Fort Mead high school, according to Judd.

“As you could imagine that created quite an emergency and we had dozens of deputies respond to protect the students and the school was on lockdown and for hours we searched and prepared for some radical person to show up in a vehicle,” said Judd.

“Of course it turned out to be a prank.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "As you could imagine that created quite an emergency and we had dozens of deputies respond to protect the students and the school was on lockdown and for hours we searched and prepared for some radical person to show up in a vehicle," said Judd.</p><p>"Of course it turned out to be a prank."

“We see absolutely no humour in this… this is a serious felony in Florida,” Judd said.

– With files from Paula Baker