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Vaughan teen accused of numerous hoax firearms-related 911 calls

In one incident, a 911 caller said he had just shot his mother and if police responded, he would shoot them, York Regional Police say
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Supplied photo/York Regional Police

NEWS RELEASE
YORK REGIONAL POLICE
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Investigators with the York Regional Police #4 District Criminal Investigation Bureau have arrested and charged a 17-year-old male from the City of Vaughan under the Youth Criminal Justice Act in connection with multiple swatting incidents.

On Friday, Nov. 20, 2020, police received a call to Tommy Douglas Secondary School in Vaughan for a male walking inside the school with a gun. Officers responded to the high-risk call to later determine the call was a hoax.

On Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, police received a call to a residence on Via Borghese in Vaughan after receiving a report that a neighbour had shot his cat and dog. Officers responded to this high-risk call that was later determined to be a hoax.

On Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, police received a 911 call to another Via Borghese address. The caller reported hearing the sound of gunshots after seeing a male and female arguing. Officers responded to this high-risk call and later determined the call was again, a hoax.

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, police received another 911 call to the same Via Borghese address as the Dec. 16 incident. The caller stated he had just shot his mother and if police responded, he would shoot them. Again, officers responded to this high-risk incident to later discover it was another hoax.

Following a lengthy investigation, a suspect was identified and has been charged.

Charged:
    •    17-year-old male, Vaughan

Charges include:
    •    Public mischief x4
    •    Mischief – interfere with lawful use of property x4

Swatting is the act of tricking a police service into dispatching emergency responders based on the false report of an ongoing critical incident. Fake calls to 9-1-1 are not only resource intensive, but can be traumatic for all involved, from the innocent residents dealing with the high-risk police response, the 9-1-1 call taker hearing reports of potential homicides, to frontline officers who believe they are responding to an active shooter call.

People responsible for swatting calls do their best to make the hoax incident sound as believable as possible by using people’s personal information, often gathered from social media. Residents are advised to take extra steps to protect themselves by limiting the amount of private information posted online.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the York Regional Police #4 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7441, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-tips, or leave an anonymous tip online.

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