An unidentified male under the age of eighteen has been arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in connection with the recent series of swatting incidents. Over the past few months, authorities have been called to the homes of celebrities like Justin Bieber and Ashton Kutcher on several occasions after they received serious reports of incidents involving guns and/ or hostages. Each time, authorities responded with a large number of officers, and each time, the incident turned out to be a hoax.
According to The Los Angeles Times, police are refusing to release any information on the individual arrested except that he’s under eighteen-years-old and lives somewhere in Southern California with his parents. The police force is reportedly conferring with experts to see whether the boy’s mom and dad can be sued to recover some or all of the thousands of dollars wasted responding to the hoaxes.
The arrest occurred back on December 10, but police are reportedly still investigating to see whether anyone else may have played a role in the hoaxes. Given the supposed perpetrator’s age, it’s unlikely we’ll ever get his name, but it is likely the police department will begin giving out information such as his age and/ or more specific location.
We’ll keep you updated when more information becomes available. Until then, here’s to hoping these swatting pranks are over with. Not only are they a financial burden, they’re also extremely dangerous.
