COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — Just days after the University of South Carolina was plunged into chaos by a false report of an active shooter, a new intelligence report points to a shadowy online group believed to be orchestrating similar hoaxes nationwide.
The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), a nonprofit watchdog organization, says it has uncovered a digital network behind a recent wave of “swatting” incidents, or fake emergency calls designed to provoke an aggressive law enforcement response, targeting college campuses across the United States.
While it remains unclear whether this group was directly responsible for the panic at USC, investigators say the group has been advertising their services online, charging as little as $20 to unleash terror at schools and universities.
The Business of Fear
According to GPAHE, the group, known as Purgatory, offers a grisly menu of services: fake bomb threats, active shooter hoaxes, and other swatting tactics that can prompt lockdowns, mass evacuations, and heavy police deployments…