Waterloo Area, Ontario – Waterloo Regional Police have charged a Kitchener youth in connection to a number of swatting incidents in Kitchener.
Between Could 2024 and October 2024, WRPS officers responded to 13 swatting calls, false experiences designed to elicit a major police response.
The targets of those swatting calls had been assorted and included threats of violence in the direction of public occasions, secondary colleges, business companies, personal residences, and people.
Within the first incident, on Could 29, 2024, Waterloo Regional Police obtained a name from a person threatening to deliver a handgun to St. Mary’s Excessive Faculty in Kitchener and to trigger hurt to college students. These threats resulted within the closure of St. Mary’s Excessive Faculty on Could 29, 2024 and Could 30, 2024, in addition to the cancellation of an annual Relay for Life occasion hosted by the college in assist of the Canadian Most cancers Society.
Over the subsequent 5 months, a number of different swatting incidents occurred, together with threats to detonate an explosive at a Kitchener enterprise, shoot people in a residence, and conduct mass shootings at a Canada Day celebration in Victoria Park and two Kitchener colleges, St. Mary’s Excessive Faculty and Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute. Cameron Heights Collegiate was additionally closed for in the future on account of the risk.
WRPS officers responded to and investigated every incident, figuring out all of them to be false experiences.
As a part of the continued investigation by WRPS’ Normal Investigations Unit, a number of warrants had been accomplished, together with a search warrant at a Kitchener residence. A number of digital gadgets had been seized and analyzed.
Because of the investigation, on November 4, 2024, a 15-year-old Kitchener youth was charged with 29 felony offences, together with:
Public Mischief (eight counts)
Utter Threats to Trigger Demise (eight counts)
Mischief – Intrude with Lawful Enjoyment of Property (two counts)
Celebration to the Offence of Public Mischief (5 counts)
Celebration to the Offence of Utter Threats to Trigger Demise (4 counts)
Celebration to the Offence of Legal Harassment (two counts)
The youth was held in police custody for a bail listening to and can seem in courtroom on December 6, 2024.
The youth won’t be recognized in accordance with the Youth Legal Justice Act.
WA24141231 (917), WA24138491 (917), WA24137492 (917), WA24141435 (917), WA24150302 (917), WA24154073 (917), WA24172426 (917), WA24167555 (917), WA24154548 (917), WA24275772 (917), WA24158056 (917)
Media Inquiries:
Waterloo Regional Police Service
Public Info Unit
519-570-9777 (WRPS) ext. 8188
[email protected]
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