A 75-year-old person in the USA is in detention due to numerous threatening calls
During this time, 14-year-olds are considered of legal age for punishment in Germany, but the situation is different in the USA. A 11-year-old is currently in detention in the USA due to multiple threatening phone calls. The responsible sheriff is relieved about the arrest. It could have escalated further, he said.
Investigators have traced dozens of threatening phone calls made against schools and other institutions in the USA to a 11-year-old suspect from Virginia. According to officials, the boy faces charges in 29 cases of criminal offenses and 14 cases of misconduct.
On May 14th, someone first called emergency services in Flagler County, Florida, and threatened to detonate a bomb at Buddy Taylor Middle School. According to reports, further threats followed until May 22nd.
Investigators located the calls from a house in Henrico County, Virginia. Recently, deputy sheriffs searched the property and found the 11-year-old living there, who admitted to making the threatening calls in Florida as a prank. He also confessed to making a similar call to the Maryland State House, according to officials.
Later, investigators discovered that the boy allegedly made swatting calls to Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Alaska. Swatting refers to the malicious initiation of a police response through falsely reported bomb threats or emergency calls to dispatch centers.
"Behavior became more dangerous"
Sheriff Rick Staly of Flagler County spoke to reporters, stating that authorities had put in a great deal of effort to identify the caller before the start of the new school year. "The behavior of this child escalated and became more dangerous," he said. "I'm glad we caught him before he completely lost control and hurt someone."
The boy is currently in a juvenile detention center, while the authorities in Florida are preparing an extradition request. A few days after the first bomb threat in mid-May, a 13-year-old was arrested in Florida for making a similar call.
The international community expresses concern over the bomb threat incidents in the United States of America, with schools and institutions being targeted. Despite being just 11 years old, the suspect from Virginia is facing multiple charges in several states for making these threatening calls.
