POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Two out-of-state teens have been extradited to Polk County after the sheriff’s office said they SWAT-called an area police department because they were angry with a local online gamer.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said a 15-year-old from Connecticut and a 14-year-old from New York “both ‘swatted’ a victim here in Poinciana,” according to a news release.
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Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the suspects were in the same online gaming group with a 12-year-old who lives in the Four Corners area.
Judd said they got mad at the 12-year-old for some reason and, on June 4, one of them called the Haines City Police Department, claiming there had been a shooting.
Since the address was outside Haines City’s boundary, the call was sent to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Judd said deputies responded to the victim’s house and told the victim’s parents to stop him from playing games with the group.
Then, on June 5, Judd said the other suspect made another swatting call, this time to the Kissimmee Police Department, claiming someone had a shotgun and killed a woman and children at the 12-year-old’s house.
Deputies realized it was another swatting call.
Judd said online arguments were leading to more of these swatting calls, calling it a dangerous epidemic.
“Our first fear is, at some point in time because there’s been so much of this crying wolf through these swatting calls, that there will be a real emergency that needs a real response and it won’t get the appropriate response,” Judd said. “And then there’s always somebody goes, ’Well, why don’t you respond as an emergency to all of them?’” Because it puts law enforcement officers or lives at risk. It puts fire and EMS life at risk if they’re called into the swatting incident. And that puts the homeowners at risk.
“Many times, these calls come after the homeowners have gone to bed at night,” Judd continued. “So all of a sudden there’s this big rapping on the door and there’s this police response. Well, you wake somebody up in Florida, Polk County, in the middle of the night with a big rap on the door and it’s more likely than not that the homeowner is going to have a gun in his hand on the other side of the door, which can end up a horrible event.”
Judd urged parents to stop their teens from playing games online.
“We need your help. Lock down the machines,” Judd said. “Don’t allow them to play games with people across the United States. If they want to play a game, let them play with their friend, little Johnny, next door, or you know the parents and they know you, and stop this online game. And it’s leading to these horrible events.”