Pennsylvania Teen Suspected in Swatting Incident at East Lyme Condos

A Pennsylvania teen is suspected in a “swatting” incident in East Lyme over the summer that forced a large police response to a condominium complex.

It happened on Aug. 23.

A male, later identified as a 15-year-old from Pennsylvania, called the dispatch center just after 2:30 p.m. and said his brother shot his father and the father might be dead, police said. He told dispatchers that he and his mother were hiding, and his brother was searching the residence for them.

The East Lyme Police Department and the Flanders Fire Department responded to the scene, set up a perimeter and moved residents to safe locations.

For several minutes, dispatchers and police stayed on the phone with the caller until he disconnected the call. When police enter the condominium unit, it was empty, police said.

The investigation included multiple search and seizure warrants for technology companies.

Investigators determined that the phone call was made with a phone app that can be used to generate the originating phone number and the

IP address led them to an address in Pennsylvania, where the call was made, police said.

Police said the teen was involved in an online gaming chat with others who also engaged in calls to businesses around the country. 

East Lyme police obtained an arrest warrant through the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters in Waterford and the teen was arrested Tuesday and charged with falsely reporting an incident in the first degree, misuse of an emergency 911 system, disorderly conduct, conspiracy to commit falsely reporting an incident and conspiracy to commit misuse of 911 system.