Manitoba teen facing additional charges related to 'swatting' calls in U.S.: RCMP

(File Photo)

An 18-year-old from Manitoba previously arrested in connection with ‘swatting’ incidents in the United States was arrested again in connection with additional incidents.

Sean Murdock from Fisher River was arrested on Wednesday and is facing an additional six charges of public mischief. The charges have not been proven in court.

Murdock was previously arrested in September 2021 in connection with two swatting incidents in Tennessee and two in North Carolina. ‘Swatting’ sees a person making a phone call falsely describing a life-threatening situation to provoke an armed police response.

In the September incidents, calls were made saying a man was inside a school with a firearm and was going to start shooting. The schools were placed on lockdown and a large number of police officers, including SWAT officers, attended. The calls were found to be false.

RCMP examined electronic devices seized from Murdock’s home during his initial arrest and determined he allegedly made six additional swatting calls to various police departments in the United States.

The police departments were located in Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

“These calls ranged from threats made in relation to an active shooter to bomb threats involving large facilities,” RCMP said in a statement. “As a result of these phone calls, numerous law enforcement personnel were dispatched to these locations which were all determined to be false.”

Murdock is scheduled to appear in court on March 8 in Peguis First Nation, Manitoba.