Oakville youth charged in two ‘swatting’ incidents

Halton police have made an arrest in connection with two “swatting” incidents that took place in Oakville earlier this year.

The first happened on Jan. 25 and the other, just three days later. In both incidents, police responded to reports of “criminal acts” at a home in Oakville.

Police say they quickly determined the reports were false and began investigating the incidents as “swatting events”.

“Swatting” is when a caller makes a false report to police with the goal of having numerous officers and emergency resources dispatched to an ongoing critical incident.

Officers arrested a young person from Oakville on Wednesday after executing a search warrant at their home.

The person cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. They are facing two counts of public mischief and two counts of criminal harassment.

Police are reminding the public that making false police reports carry rippling impacts on the community’s safety and well-being.