A California teenager has allegedly been unmasked as a prolific “swatter-for-hire” who charged $75 to target high schools, places of worship, US Senators and the Supreme Court with bogus bomb threats and mass shooting calls, according to law enforcement officials.
Alan Winston Filion, 17, was arrested on 18 January at his home in Lancaster, Los Angeles County, and extradited to Seminole County , Florida , where he was charged with four felonies related to making a false police report of a mass shooting at a local mosque in May 2023.
Prosecutors allege Mr Filion told a dispatch operator that he had a handgun and explosive devices and was going to kill everyone inside the Masjid Al Hayy Mosque in Sanford, according to court documents obtained by The Independent.
“Hello, I am going to commit a mass shooting in the name of Satan,” he allegedly said, while playing audio of gunfire in the background. Around 30 heavily armed police officers were sent to the mosque in response, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.