Manitoba teen facing additional charges related to 'swatting' calls in U.S.: RCMP
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.