He called law enforcement to say he was going to shoot up a Florida mosque. Then, there were sounds of gunfire.
But it was all fake, authorities say. And now, a teenager from Lancaster has been arrested on suspicion of phoning in the phony threat.
The incident occurred May 12, when law enforcement in Seminole County received a call from someone who said he was entering the Masjid Al Hayy in Sanford, Fla., to carry out a mass shooting.
The caller made references to Satanism and said he had a handgun and explosives, authorities said in a statement.
“He then began playing audio of gunfire in the background,” the statement continued.
Seminole County law enforcement responded to the mosque, but when officers arrived they found there was no shooter.
Officers determined the call was a swatting incident — in which someone reports a false crime or emergency at a specific location to provoke an aggressive law enforcement response, often from a SWAT team.