California teenager charged with swatting faces adult charges in Florida

Source: Associated Press

California teenager charged with swatting faces adult charges in Florida

Updated 1:56 PM EST, February 1, 2024

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — A California teenager accused of swatting a Florida mosque has been arrested and transported across the country to face felony charges.

Alan Winston Filion, 17, was arrested Jan. 18 by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on a warrant from Seminole County, Florida, according to court records. He was extradited to central Florida on Tuesday to face three charges of false reporting and one charge of unlawful use of a two-way communication device. He is being prosecuted as an adult.

“Swatting is a perilous and senseless crime, which puts innocent lives in dangerous situations and drains valuable resources,” Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said in a statement. “The substantial law enforcement response in this swatting case underscores our unwavering dedication to community safety and holding offenders accountable, regardless of where they are located.”

Swatting is the practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address. Bomb threats go back decades in the U.S., but swatting has become especially popular in recent years as people and groups target celebrities and politicians.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/swatting-california-teen-florida-a0119bbcecf7b519abb9cdddac8f9cea