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Crime

29 Felony Charges Filed Over 'Swat' Calls Made By an 11-Year-Old (cnn.com) 121

Law enforcement officials have identified the criminal behind "more than 20 bomb or shooting threats to schools and other places," reports CNN.

It was an 11-year-old boy: Investigators tracked the calls to a home in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside Richmond. Local deputies searched the home this month, and the 11-year-old boy who lived there admitted to placing the Florida swatting calls, as well as a threat made to the Maryland State House, authorities said. Investigators later determined that the boy also made swatting calls in Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Alaska. The boy faces 29 felony counts and 14 misdemeanors, officials said. He's being held in a Virginia juvenile detention facility while Florida officials arrange for his extradition...

A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Florida in May, several days after the initial call, for making a copycat threat to Buddy Taylor Middle School, official said.

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29 Felony Charges Filed Over 'Swat' Calls Made By an 11-Year-Old

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  • by bosef1 ( 208943 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @02:49PM (#64660146)

    They need to do the thing where the parents are also charged for the crimes committed by their children. This case is less clear-cut than the previous ones, because it is far more likely that the parents did not know what their child was doing, but having a legal requirement, that is enforced with criminal consequences, that custodians of minors actually have to exercise custody of them is a good thing and a long time coming.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Definitely. Parents are responsible for what their kids do and what worldview they have. And, incidentally, whether they have a phone and Internet access. That said, 11 years is far too young for the criminal justice system. This kid belongs into a closed mental institution where they hold him until such a time when he is no longer a threat to society. Yes, that can be for the rest of his life.

      • You seem to think that a kid has less chances to realize his mistakes and correct himself into a good person than an adult criminal. I'm curious why you think so.

        • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          You may want to look a this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

        • Psychopathy is not a currable disease.. Then again he IS too young to diagnose. So he has a chance.

          • Not all psychopaths turn to crime. Many of them are useful members of society. And even if psychopaths do crime, they still can stop. They can think and evaluate the consequences of their actions. An above user's suggestion to lock psychopaths up for life is ironic, given the apparent lack of empathy in many Slashdot users, and other psychopathic traits too.

          • 'Psychopathy is not a currable disease.. Then again he IS too young to diagnose. So he has a chance.'

            You mean he can learn to fake being normal?

      • by Harvey Manfrenjenson ( 1610637 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @06:12PM (#64660438)

        You're suggesting we put an 11-year-old boy in a "closed mental institution, where they can hold him until he's no longer a threat to society?" Possibly "for the rest of his life"?

        Come on now. What he did was very serious, and points to either serious psychological issues or bad parenting or both... but it's essentially just a much-worse version of a kid pulling a fire alarm. No one was actually harmed by his actions (although the potential for someone to be harmed was certainly there).

        Speaking as a mental health provider: the appropriate thing to do here would be court-ordered mental health treatment, which would include both family therapy and a very close evaluation of his home environment (similar to what happens in cases of alleged abuse/neglect). This could be combined with some pretty strict behavioral constraints (e.g., no unsupervised phone/Internet use until he turns 16, and even then only if his therapists think it's a good idea).

        There is no *medical* or psychiatric rationale for sticking the kid in a hospital. If you honestly feel that this kid should be put in prison, say so, and be prepared to defend that viewpoint; don't use the euphemism of "closed mental institution" or pretend that there would be anything "therapeutic" about that option. There would be nothing therapeutic about it.

        • by Ichijo ( 607641 )

          There is no *medical* or psychiatric rationale for sticking the [11-year-old] kid in a [mental institution].

          Are you trolling or do you actually believe that rehabilitation and incapacitation are not justified as reasons to punish someone?

          I would argue that in an enlightened society, those are the only two justified purposes to institutionalize someone, the others being retribution (a.k.a. revenge), and deterrence, which is unjustified because locking someone up isn't a very effective way to deter crime. [ojp.gov]

          • by kmoser ( 1469707 )
            How is giving someone treatment in an institution a form of revenge?
          • Are you trolling or do you actually believe that rehabilitation and incapacitation are not justified as reasons to punish someone?

            Of course, "incapacitation" is a perfectly good reason for locking someone up. When did I say otherwise? I doubt that you would need to lock this particular 11-year-old up to "incapacitate" him, though. Just make it a condition of his sentence-- no unsupervised use of phone or Internet, or you go to Juvie.

            As for locking someone up for the purpose of "rehabilitation"? There are occasional cases where that makes sense (e.g., a violent schizophrenic off his meds). But in this case, the idea doesn't apply,

            • by Ichijo ( 607641 )

              But [psychiatric facilities] are not geared for long-term stays, and they certainly don't provide holistic long-term treatment

              That of course depends on the state. You must be in a red state, am I right?

              • But [psychiatric facilities] are not geared for long-term stays, and they certainly don't provide holistic long-term treatment

                That of course depends on the state. You must be in a red state, am I right?

                Nope, blue state. You're probably correct that practices vary from state to state. But they don't vary that much, and the part where I said "locked facilities aren't designed for long-term holistic care", I'm confident that that applies everywhere, in the United States at least.

        • IANAMHP (I am not a mental health provider), so I have an honest question for which I would like to hear your thoughts. What about a "scared straight" type of intervention for the kid?
          • I have an honest question for which I would like to hear your thoughts. What about a "scared straight" type of intervention for the kid?

            You know, I don't work with kids anymore-- just adults-- so I'm not the best person to ask. I don't know what a "scared straight" approach would look like or if that's really a thing child psychologists try to do these days. Maybe they should.

            I would think that one highly effective way to "scare a kid straight" is to have them face the full legal consequences of what they do. This particular kid may or may not have to go to prison, but he's had to go to jail, and get fingerprinted and handcuffed and so o

        • Being an 11-year old child is not a mental health issue. Duh! 11 year old children lacks a lot of common sense and good judgement. That is why they can't enter contracts, drive a car etc. Nothing indicates that this has anything to do with mental health, or lack thereof. It was just another game for a child that didn't understand better. The solution is that the adults around him pay more attention, that is all.

        • Come on now. What he did was very serious, and points to either serious psychological issues or bad parenting or both... but it's essentially just a much-worse version of a kid pulling a fire alarm. No one was actually harmed by his actions (although the potential for someone to be harmed was certainly there).

          He sent armed police officers into staggers homes claiming there was an armed conflict inside.

          Let's imagine you were the victim, and suddenly 5 armed officers in tactical gear bust down your front door and have to make snap decisions about what is going on inside. He's lucky no one was hurt, damn lucky, but that doesn't reduce his responsibility.

          I don't think the community is best served by sending an 11 year-old to "pound you in the a$$" prison, but wagging a finger in his face and telling him not to do th

        • You're suggesting we put an 11-year-old boy in a "closed mental institution, where they can hold him until he's no longer a threat to society?" Possibly "for the rest of his life"?

          We live in a disposable society. Lives are also disposable. Enjoy.

    • Yeah exactly. Our system isn't broken by design, we just are not punitive enough!
    • by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @07:11PM (#64660536) Homepage Journal

      Yes. This boy and his parents are at the only ones to blame. Not a paramilitary force that is only a phone call away and is so lax in its investigative policies that it has literally run in with guns blazing on innocent people multiple times.

      • Or even at the wrong address when doing something "legitimate" (ie, serving a warrant obtained the old fashioned way)

      • Not a paramilitary force that is only a phone call away and is so lax in its investigative policies that it has literally run in with guns blazing on innocent people multiple times.

        There's no evidence (in the article) that happened even once. All it says is that he called in bomb threats, it doesn't say he was successful in tricking anyone.

        • FFS, you are part of the problem.

          Let's revisit the fine summary:

          Investigators tracked the calls to a home in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside Richmond. Local deputies searched the home this month, and the 11-year-old boy who lived there admitted to placing the Florida swatting calls, as well as a threat made to the Maryland State House, authorities said. Investigators later determined that the boy also made swatting calls in Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Alaska.

          What is a "SWAT" call? He sent armed officers into random residences a dozen times - luckily no one was hurt - but those actions are serious offenses.

          I don't know about you, but I'll accept his confession to making multiple SWAT calls, and put it down to a combination of police professionalism and luck that no one was hurt.

          We literally can't take the position that SWATing a stranger is no big deal unless some one is either shot or god forbid ki

    • Western society wants to charge parents for every bad thing done by their kids while bending over backwards to undermine parents' authority by intrusive meddling into family affairs.

      Now, why or why Americans are choosing to have less and less kids every year?

      • Inflation?

        I don't know anyone that has ever said "I'd like to have a kid, but the government won't let me raise the child how I want, punish the child as I see fit, or will hold me responsible if my child commits heinous crime".

        In the developed world, people have children because they want them, it's really that simple in most cases.

  • by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @03:08PM (#64660176)

    This kid is set to run for president before his majority!

    • by shanen ( 462549 )

      Talk about needing that sweet, sweet absolute presidential immunity... (For best of the Funny.)

      But I still think too much about solutions. In that case I think Biden should issue an executive order saying that "faithfully execute the office" means obeying the laws, not looking for immunity coverage. Part two would say no presidential pardons based on claims of "helping" the president. Really funny to read the cancellation and I'm too sadly too sure it will get cancelled. Unless the SCOTUS intervenes and rul

  • by laughingskeptic ( 1004414 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @03:08PM (#64660178)
    Why is anyone talking about extraditing an 11 year old? Before talking to Florida, the first thing that Henrico County should have done is arrange for an ad litem for this kid.
    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Indeed. In a sane legal system, 11 year olds cannot even be held criminally accountable. The parents probably should be held accountable if they could have seen what was going on (which depends on the level of deviousness of the kid), but not the kid. The kid is a case for psychiatric evaluation and likely a closed mental institution. Which he may eventually get out of or not.

      • I agree, he should be institutionalized and I think the bar for being released back into the public would need to be set extremely high and rely on the parents to monitor him and be responsible if he does anything illegal or that breaks any release terms.
        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by gtall ( 79522 )

          He's a KID. Kids do stupid things, that's part of being a kid. And echoing what he sees on T.V. is not prescription for incarceration in what ever dumb "institution" you have in mind.

          • by Ogive17 ( 691899 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @06:12PM (#64660436)
            Doing it a couple times is being stupid, doing it 29 times is a serious problem.

            I just wonder what was wrong in this kid's life that gave him the knowledge and opportunity to make all those calls. I'll guess that the parents gave him unfettered access to the internet.
            • Doing it a couple times is being stupid, doing it 29 times is a serious problem. I just wonder what was wrong in this kid's life that gave him the knowledge and opportunity to make all those calls. I'll guess that the parents gave him unfettered access to the internet.

              Unsupervised or "latch key" kid?

            • If the first few times had no consequences there would have been no reason to stop doing it. Doing it once is no different from doing it a thousand times, in that case.

              Now he's been caught (and awfully late too) he can get a very stern talking to.

              In the Netherlands he'd be referred to "bureau Halt" which then would see that he gets an age-appropriate punishment and/or treatment.

          • by gweihir ( 88907 )

            He is a danger to society. What he did amounts to attempted murder. Hence he needs to be prevented from doing it again until he understands what he did (if he does not already) and he is willing to stop. Closed mental institutions are not about "incarceration". They are about treatment for those too dangerous to let run free. This kid possibly qualifies.

            • by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @06:17PM (#64660448) Journal

              It's pretty fucked up that calling the police on someone is attempted murder.

              This would not be the case if the police weren't trigger happy armed thugs with a victim complex.

              • You are right that the police shouldn't react the way they often do to one of these calls. However with the kid having done 29 of these calls (that we know about) there's no way he wasn't aware of what the police might do. He was likely counting on the police to over react which he got off on.

                After all where is the fun in making a call to the police only to have them knock on the door and have a polite conversation with the home owner before leaving. He wanted the police to do more or else he wouldn't have

              • This would not be the case if the police weren't trigger happy armed thugs with a victim complex.

                You do understand that the "trigger happy armed thugs" actually didn't hurt anyone, but nice try to deflect responsibility from the child to the police.

                Would you prefer a system where home invasion, domestic abuse, and hostage situations merit a few hours of careful research before officers decide to visit the purported crime scene? Really?

                I'd like to know the ratio of "swat" calls to valid calls of a similar nature - we only hear about the very few cases where someone is shot, not the thousands and thousan

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by sjames ( 1099 )

        What the kid did certainly isn't great, but lets talk about a totally broken system that even makes it possible for an 11 year old to commit multiple swattings in the first place.

        When it comes down to it, a swatting is just an extra serious crank phone call. The fact that it so easily escalates to a potentially fatal police incident is on the police. It's not like there haven't been crank phone calls pretty much since phones were invented.

        • by gweihir ( 88907 )

          That is the second problem here. The primitive violent horde often misnamed "police" in the US is out of control.

          When it comes down to it, a swatting is just an extra serious crank phone call.

          I disagree. That is like saying "pulling the trigger on a weapon you think is empty while pointing it at somebody" is just an "extra serious prank". It is not. It is willfully putting the life of people in serious danger. 11 years is old enough to understand that.

          Hence it is on both sides. The kid clearly is a complete asshole and a danger to society, but the police is too.

          • by sjames ( 1099 )

            Certainly the morals and ethics are different, but not really the mechanism. The mechanism SHOULD be different and much harder to pull off with steps to mitigate the harm.

          • 11 years is old enough? Why stop there? I'm sure you can find some way to hold a toddler accountable for stealing candy.

            In less barbaric societies we understand that children have a hard time grasping long term consequences. They usually don't even have a conception of death. So truly understanding the consequences is very hard at that age.

            But you do you. Make 11 years old the new age of consent while you're at it - after all, the kids should be able to understand the consequences of having sex, right?

            • If, by 11yo, you have no concept of consequences or morals, bro, you have issues.

            • by gweihir ( 88907 )

              And if you had any reading comprehension, you would know that I am not talking about holding him accountable. I am talking, very specifically, about making sure he cannot do it again until he knows better, whenever that may be.

        • by kmoser ( 1469707 )
          Makes you wonder why they didn't catch the kid the very first time he did it. Aren't calls to 911 tracked? If he used subterfuge to block his number, that's even more evidence this wasn't a simple mistake or prank, but a calculated attempt at putting people's lives at stake.
          • by sjames ( 1099 )

            As I understand it (my understanding is limited), often the call is made to an administrative number to avoid the usual checks on 911 calls. That SHOULD be a red flag for the response, but evidently it isn't treated that way.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Why is anyone talking about extraditing an 11 year old?

      Florida is where the crime was committed, that these investigations started in, as well as the court that is hearing the case.

      It would seem his crimes in the other states listed in the summary weren't connected with him until after the Florida court case.

      Before talking to Florida, the first thing that Henrico County should have done is arrange for an ad litem for this kid.

      That might still happen. It also might not matter.
      All of the evidence from the investigation and testimony following the kid admitting to the crime is entirely valid.
      His guilt may no longer be a question of fact, so the pleading of the kid or their guardia

    • What do you think it means to extradite someone? It simply means to make the accused available to face charges in another jurisdiction. They may decide to handle the case via Zoom. They may waive extradition. They may put him in front of a Florida juvenile court. Merely extraditing him is not really a punishment in and of itself - it's basically a trip to Disneyworld with going to the amusement park.

  • by hdyoung ( 5182939 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @03:17PM (#64660186)
    An 11-year-old boy has barely even discovered his own wiener. How the heck did this kid have the organizational skills to a) discover politics, b) compile a list of institutional targets and c) cover his tracks?

    My working hypothesis is that he wandered into the “how to SWAT” corner of the internet, and nobody bothered to notice. Everyone loves to blame the parents, but it’s actually fairly hard to 100% absolutely control a kids’ internet access without being a total control-freak-parent. That brings it’s own negative effects on the kid. I know this first hand. To me, what I really want to know is how the heck did law enforcement miss a kid that serially swatted and bomb-threated over 20 places? The tools they have nowadays to break the privacy wall are pretty damn strong
    • by Seranfall ( 680430 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @03:28PM (#64660212)
      Don't give an 11 year old a smart phone.
    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by sdinfoserv ( 1793266 )
      Sadly, this is not bizarre, this has become normal. Children are being taught in school they can do what ever they want. Anything that makes them feel :"uncomfortable", real or perceived, and the perpetrator will suffer real consequences. Parents are not even being told when their kids are disciplined by schools. for imagined infractions. This is teaching a generation there are not consequences so long as you "feel good" about yourself. . Just a few examples from the past month
      https://www.kiro7.com/ne [kiro7.com]
      • by hdyoung ( 5182939 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @03:50PM (#64660252)
        Those links are mostly standard “young kid or group of kids do stupid thing and promptly wind up in custody”.

        Those links actually argue against your point. Most of the time, law enforcement collars the kids pretty fast. At that point, the kid quickly learns that s/he’s not nearly as entitled as they think. Getting handcuffed, spending a few hours in a jail cell and being hauled before a judge are REALLY effective at cutting through that new-age entitlement illusion.

        The weird thing about this swatter is the number of times he got away with it before getting apprehended. I’d be interested to know how that happened.
        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          Those links are mostly standard “young kid or group of kids do stupid thing and promptly wind up in custody”.

          Those links actually argue against your point.

          You're not understanding how MAGA folks "reason". He's concluded that he knows exactly why those kids did bad things, regardless of the presence or absence of any supporting evidence. He just knows.

    • by Local ID10T ( 790134 ) <ID10T.L.USER@gmail.com> on Saturday July 27, 2024 @05:35PM (#64660362) Homepage

      My working hypothesis is that he wandered into the "how to SWAT" corner of the internet, and nobody bothered to notice. Everyone loves to blame the parents, but it's actually fairly hard to 100% absolutely control a kids' internet access without being a total control-freak-parent.

      When my step son was old enough to want a computer, we made a space for him to use it in the public portion of the house. We got a smaller dining table and put a desk along one wall of the dining/living room. His computer (and later xbox/playstation) use were simply NOT PRIVATE. We did not have to be "total control-freak parents" to provide adult supervision. We just had to be parents. "Bothering to notice" wtf your child is doing is a major part of being a parent.

      • Are you absolutely 100% sure that you had complete control and knew everything he did? Really, really sure? I mean this respectfully, but realistically.

        It’s certainly possible that your kid was a straight-arrow-type and never made a serious effort to hide their activities from you.

        But, without discussing any details, I’ve known plenty of circumstances where kids went out of their way to get internet outside their parents view, and they were pretty damn successful at it. And, for every
        • Are you absolutely 100% sure that you had complete control and knew everything he did? Really, really sure?

          Of course not. As I said... "We did not have to be "total control-freak parents" to provide adult supervision. We just had to be parents."

          Kids don't need to be "100% complete controlled", but they should not be left completely on their own either. It is not black/white -it is a gradient. The best you can do is just be part of your kids everyday life.

      • When my son was old enough, I bought him a computer and left him to his privacy. It wasn't an issue as he was eager and excited to show me some of the things he was seeing. Some of it was fucked up, some of it was unethical, some of it was outright criminal. I talked with him.

        My son is now a fully grown adult living his own life successfully. I fear your stepson was limited by your rules and did not become the best he could be. All because you didn't trust him.

    • How the heck did this kid have the organizational skills to a) discover politics, b) compile a list of institutional targets and c) cover his tracks?

      Where did you get any of that from? There's nothing to indicate that this was a) political, b) anything more than a bunch of random schools by a kid who seemingly hated schools, and c) there's no evidence that he covered any tracks.

      • If he didn’t cover his tracks, did law enforcement really sleep that hard on the job that they didn’t bother to trace a single one of the calls back to the source? Nowadays, unless someone is making serious effort to hide, I’m pretty sure law enforcement can trace something like that with a few mouseclicks.

        From the article, it was a single kid, and it seems that a few of his calls were to state legislatures. That’s not something an 11-year old will naturally gravitate towards.
        • You're doing a lot of guessing there. Yeah you can trace calls back to a source. Often though you need something worth investigating, the time to investigate, the time to follow up, and then a case to build.

          There's literally countless reasons why this takes time without implying that anyone needed to cover their tracks. Heck this is the *police* we are talking about, infamous in America for being slow / bad at their jobs.

          The reality is, swatting specifically is illegal to the extent of a small fine only. Th

  • by Haydn ( 592455 ) <{moc.liamg} {ta} {yeltnuh.ndyah}> on Saturday July 27, 2024 @04:22PM (#64660284) Homepage
    Iâ(TM)m surprised that no one has mentioned fixing the security holes in our phone system, which make this so easy to do that an 11 year old can exploit it.
  • he will grow up to be president,
  • Sentence him to Agoge.

  • by Orphic_Egg ( 556751 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @05:50PM (#64660390)
    Who says the younger generation has no initiative? Chaotic Evil, but a real go getter.
  • So, can anyone anonymously call in a swat request? Or does the police require some form of identification and maybe some form of authentication? If there is no required identification or authentication to trigger actions that potentially involve deadly force, isn't the real problem that the process is broken?

    Imagine that a bad actor (say Russia, China, or Iran or maybe just an anarchist group) wants to wreak havoc. They could just kick off a program (especially with AI!) that calls in hundreds of swattin

    • ... that the process is broken?

      It's the idea that doing something is better than nothing, reversed: The cost of doing nothing is much worse than the cost of doing something. The fact that doing something is more likely to cause injury and carnage, is irrelevant. (See below.)

      ... actual threats and pretend threats ...

      How does one determine a voice on the phone is genuinely prepared and willing to maim someone? By that metric, the entire police force are criminals.

      ... there isn't more outrage ...

      It's because the armed criminals, sorry, the police are allowed to threaten, maim and murder people. They're a gan

  • by RitchCraft ( 6454710 ) on Saturday July 27, 2024 @06:26PM (#64660470)

    When I was 17 (1985) myself and a group of friends decided to skip school one day. We all went to a friend's house to hang out. One of our idiot friend's who was kind of mental was suddenly heard saying, "There's a bomb in the building!". When we looked over he was hanging the phone up. The dumb ass called the high school. Needless to say the school put two and two together fairly quickly seeing that our group was absent from school. There was no felony charge for him but he did get suspended and have to participate in counseling (which he probably needed any way). He's fine today but a felony on his record would have ruined his life. Is it necessary to charge kids with felonies?

    • Is it necessary to charge kids with felonies?

      Yes. Voter suppression needs to happen. The fact that they are legally required to be unarmed is the frosting on the cake. Did you think that the child's life and future actually matter? LOL, nope. That child is disposable as it was already born.

  • You're gonna extradite an 11 year-old for making phonecalls? Get real.

  • Ok, I understand. What he did was massively wrong, but... HE'S ELEVEN, he doesn't yet have the mental capacities to see what he's doing to others.

    Put this kid in some foster-care home, put him in some institute... but don't send him off to prison for the rest of his prime years for something he did when he still was a child.

  • Of the number of incarcerated adult population (1%), before South-Africa, at half that.

    About time they try to get to number one for the minor population.

    To quote Jim Jefferies:
    Statistically, the Land of the Free has the least free people.

  • A typical reddit user that knows more than you do.

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