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The 17-year-old, whose name was not released because of his age, is accused of using social media to falsely report that an armed student was threatening others at A.I. Prince Technical High School, according to authorities.
A state police SWAT team, officers and detectives from a number of other law enforcement agencies, and fire and ambulance personnel all responded to the school to find no threat, according to police.
The unnamed teen now faces charges of first-degree threatening, breach of peace and falsely reporting an incident, according to authorities.
The practice is known as "swatting:" a phenomenon in which someone deliberately reports a false incident to authorities with the intention of drawing a substantial emergency response to a desired location.
In 2013, a swatting incident shut down the Yale University campus in New Haven while local, state and federal authorities responded. No threat was found, according to police.
In 2014, a similarly reported “emergency” forced authorities to place the University of Connecticut at Storrs campus on lockdown while police and others responded. Again, no threat was discovered, according to police.
More recently, authorities responded to the High Ridge Park Corporate Center in Stamford after a bomb threat was reported. No explosives were found.
Similar incidents have occurred in the past year at schools in Stamford and in Fairfield.
On Thursday, State Trooper Kelly Grant warned that falsely reporting an incident is a serious and punishable crime.
“These false reports, whether they are phone calls or social media posts, are disruptive and unsettling,” Grant said. “They take much-needed first responder assets away from other potentially critical incidents within the community.”
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