Last Updated on September 8, 2021 8:12 pm
An 18-year-old Canadian has been arrested for “swatting” incidents that occurred at Watauga High School and in Tennessee.
On Wednesday, August 18, Watauga High School went on lockdown after an anonymous call that a student at Watauga High School had made threats of causing harm. Boone Police confirmed after the situation , “Prior to today’s incident, information was received by the Boone Police Department and our law enforcement partners indicating there was the possibility of a hoax or “swatting” call happening in Boone”
WataugaOnline.com can confirm, via Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), that on August 17, 2021, the Manitoba RCMP East District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) received a request to assist law enforcement agencies in the United States. These agencies included the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations.
RCMP also confirms that the police departments reported receiving a 911 call, on separate dates, from a male advising he was inside a school with a firearm and was going to start shooting. In both cases, the schools were placed on lock down and a large number of police officers, including SWAT officers, attended.
The initial investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation determined that the phone calls originated from a number registered to a residence in Manitoba, according to RCMP
Further investigation by the RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service determined that the residence was located on the Fisher River Cree Nation. On August 30, 2021, officers attended to the residence and executed a search warrant. A number of electronic items were seized.
Officers arrested an 18-year-old male at the residence who was taken into custody and later released for court scheduled December 7, 2021, on the Peguis First Nation, Manitoba. Manitoba RCMP continues to investigate.
A local law enforcement official has also confirmed to WataugaOnline.com that the subject has been arrested.
