The following is a press release from Bend Police. Central Oregon Daily News is working on getting additional information.
The Pennsylvania State Police have arrested a 17-year-old Pennsylvania resident on multiple swatting incidents, including a false report of a shooting at a home on SW Taft Avenue in Bend on April 11, 2023.
Beginning in April, criminal investigators from Pennsylvania State Police and the Collin County Sheriff’s Office (Texas) worked together on an investigation regarding a swatting call. That investigation determined the calls were coming from a home in Jackson Township, Monroe County (Penn.). Bend Police detectives worked with the FBI and authorities in Texas to determine the caller was also connected to the April 11 swatting incident in Bend.
On Tuesday, May 2, authorities served a search warrant at the home. Officers found child pornography on the juvenile’s computer, as well as evidence that the juvenile had made at least nine swatting calls throughout the country, including the April 11 call in Bend.
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In that incident, dispatch received a call to the nonemergency line at approximately 12:17 p.m. The caller reported he had shot someone at a home in the 100 block of SW Taft Avenue and was still in the residence. Bend Police responded with numerous resources, including armored vehicles. Several area roads were closed during officers’ response. Negotiators spoke on the line with the caller for several minutes, and officers evacuated homes in the immediate area of the reported incident. Personnel from both the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team and the Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Team responded to the scene. Bend Police cleared the home where the alleged shooting had occurred, found no evidence of a crime and determined there was no threat to the public. Bend Police and assisting law enforcement left the scene around 1:30 p.m.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police, a juvenile petition has been filed against the suspect for charges of possession of child pornography, false alarms, false reports, and possession of instruments of a crime. The 17-year-old is lodged at the Bucks County Juvenile Detention Center in Pennsylvania. The investigation is ongoing.
Bend Police thank the Pennsylvania State Police for its diligent investigation. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office are expected to handle the cases going forward.
