Kitchener teen charged for swatting calls that shut down schools

A 15-year-old from Kitchener is facing nearly 30 criminal charges after a series of fake “swatting” calls that threatened violence at schools, businesses, homes and public events.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) announced the charges at a press conference at the Cambridge headquarters on Monday.

“While the threats were empty, the harm that was caused was not,” said Kyle Lambert, Inspector of Criminal Investigations with WRPS. “Let me be clear, these swatting incidents are not harmless pranks. They’re crimes, and they have no place in our community.”

The charges against the unnamed youth include eight counts of public mischief and eight counts of uttering death threats.

They stem from 13 swatting calls over the span of five months, which led to significant police responses.

It started May 29 when Waterloo Regional Police got a phone call from someone threatening to bring a gun to St. Mary’s High School in Kitchener and harm students. The high school was subsequently closed for two days and their Relay for Life event in support of the Canadian Cancer Society had to be cancelled.

Over the next few months, more threatening phone calls were made against local schools; there were a total of eight involving St. Mary’s high school, and one aimed at Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute, which caused the Kitchener high school to be closed for a day.

“In one instance, the caller threatened that they were planning a mass shooting during Canada Day celebrations in Kitchener. In another, plans to shoot individuals and detonate a pipe bomb at a Kitchener shopping centre were reported,” said Inspector Lambert. “In June, the caller threatened to shoot a family, including young children, at a Kitchener residence.”

Investigators looked into each threat and according to police, all of the calls were determined to be phony.

“In each of these incidents, the police response was swift and extensive, and determined that every single report was false,” explained Lambert. “They were deliberate and malicious acts, meant to evoke a large-scale response from law enforcement. What was not false, were the real and harmful effects these swatting incidents had on public safety and the perception of safety in our community.”

As part of the lengthy investigation, police searched a Kitchener residence and seized multiple electronic devices. The devices were analyzed and as a result, police arrested a Kitchener teen who is charged with 29 criminal offences.

The youth will appear in court on Dec. 6. Their identity has not been released, as per the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Police noted that no further arrests are anticipated in the investigation.