Two teens have been arrested in a months-long investigation into multiple “swatting” incidents that occurred at a high school in upstate New York last year, authorities announced Tuesday.
Police in Bethlehem, just south of Albany, arrested a 15-year-old Bethlehem Central High School student, while a 14-year-old suspect was arrested in Canada by the Ontario Provincial Police.
Both teenagers are accused of participating in multiple “swatting” calls targeting Bethlehem Central schools in September and October 2024.
A “swatting” call is a criminal hoax in which an individual reports a false incident to law enforcement with the intent of luring an armed emergency team to a certain location.
The New York teenager was charged with conspiracy and making a terroristic threat, the latter of which is a felony, according to Bethlehem Police Chief Gina Cocchiara. The young suspect was released from custody on an appearance ticket.
The juvenile in Canada was charged with indecent communications, uttering threats, public mischief and mischief over $5,000.
Last September, Cocchiara confirmed that “multiple threats” had been received by the Bethlehem Central School District, but added that authorities had determined that there was “no imminent threat” to the community.
The following month, the FBI office in Albany said Canadian authorities had arrested a 14-year-old “for the strings of hoax threats” made to the district.
The juvenile was arrested by the Canadian Mounted Police in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The investigation remains ongoing, Cocchiara said.