Norwalk police have arrested a European juvenile who is accused of retaliating against a local resident over something that happened in an online chatroom and prompting the SWAT team to respond.
At 3:45 a.m. on Aug. 20, dispatchers in Norwalk received a call from someone who said he was an Army veteran on Kendall Court with several guns, police said. The call was from a blocked number.
A few minutes into the call, the caller told dispatchers he was going to go open the door for officers at the scene, then there were what sounded like four gunshots, police said.
When the Norwalk SWAT team responded, the actual homeowner came out and police realized the 911 call had been a hoax and didn’t come from the home.
As the investigation continued, Detective Justin Bisceglie learned that a resident of the home had been communicating with a European juvenile in a chatroom and the suspect got angry, so he retaliated by initiating the swatting call, police said.
Police have not released the juvenile’s name, but said he has an extensive hacking history and placed the call online, then routed it through other phone numbers to mask where it was coming from.
Once they realized the suspect was outside of U.S. borders, police enlisted the help of the FBI, which was aware of the suspect and forwarded the information to the proper authorities, police said.
Local
The teen will not be brought to the United States, but has been arrested in Europe.
Anyone with information about these incidents should call the Norwalk Police Department. You can call the police tip line at 203-854-3111, leave an anonymous tip online at www.norwalkpd.com or text tips by typing "NPD" and sending it to CRIMES (274637).
