14-year-old charged with 9 felonies for ‘swatting’ calls at Napoleon Community Schools

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has charged a 14-year-old boy with numerous felonies for a series of swatting calls that prompted a school lockdown and closure.

The charges stem from the teen’s alleged role in three separate threatening calls to law enforcement, which caused Napoleon Community Schools to go into lockdown on May 5. The school was closed the following day.

In response to the swatting calls, 26 police units from six different law enforcement agencies responded to the school, along with 18 fire and rescue units from at least seven agencies, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Swatting is “the malicious act of making a false emergency call to police or emergency services to prompt a heavy, armed response — such as a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team — at an unsuspecting victim’s location,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The 14-year-old, whose name is not being released, will be treated as a juvenile throughout the duration of his case, the prosecutor’s office said.

Read more: WILX