A California teenager made his first court appearance on Wednesday in connection with a swatting incident in Seminole County, Florida, according to an affidavit that outlines how officials traced his alleged online account to numerous swatting incidents in seven other cities across the country, including Norman.
The FBI National Press Office told OU Daily Friday that it can neither confirm nor deny an investigation into whether the teenager is responsible for a swatting incident at OU in April or if the affidavit was referring to OU’s swatting incident when mentioning Norman.
The FBI pointed OU Daily to contact Seminole County for anything further regarding the case.
OU Daily reached out to the Norman Police Department regarding other instances of swatting Norman over the past year, but Sarah Schettler, NPD Public Information Officer, said fulfilling the request would take several days.
NPD, OU Police Department, OU Marketing and Communications and the Seminole County Sheriff's Office told OU Daily to contact the FBI since they are the lead investigators on the case.
OU Daily is currently opting not to name the individual since he is a minor, and there is no definitive tie between him and events at OU as of the time this article was published.
On April 7 around 9:25 p.m., OU sent a “Run. Hide. Fight.” alert informing the community that an active shooter was reported on campus.
That came 11 minutes after OUPD first received a 911 call, in which the caller says they found a note from their son that read: “I love you, but I have to go to the university and shoot everybody.” They also say all of the guns in their house are missing. The caller failed to give the dispatcher the address to the house where the guns were stolen but said it was in Norman. They also mistook OU for the "University of Oakland."
After the alert, more than 100 officers raced to campus, and the broader community froze for hours. Authorities issued an all-clear at 10:53 p.m. that night. Ultimately, police found no evidence of an active shooter on campus.
On April 9, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. sent a campus-wide email saying that the university was the target of international swatting. According to the email, the FBI assisted OU in investigating the incident and found it was a case of swatting, meaning false calls were made to law enforcement to trigger a large response. The FBI believes the calls were made from outside the U.S., though the investigation is ongoing, according to the April email.
The Florida affidavit did not indicate the teen being involved in calls internationally, but only in domestic locations.
On Jan. 16, a signed arrest warrant for the teen was filed in a Florida court. The teen, who is being charged as an adult, is accused of creating a false report concerning the planting of a weapon of mass destruction, unlawful use of a two-way communication system, false report to law enforcement concerning the commission of a capital felony and false report to law enforcement causing public safety agencies to respond while facilitating or furthering an act of terrorism.
The charges show evidence of prejudice based on race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin and homeless status. Collectively, the charges are punishable by up to 65 years in prison, according to the arrest affidavit.
The teenager was arrested on Jan. 18 in Orange County, California, and extradited to Florida.
The arrest is linked to his involvement in a swatting call to the Sanford Police Department in Florida on May 12. The teen said he was heading into the Masjid Al Hayy mosque to carry out a mass shooting, according to an arrest affidavit.
The teenager is being accused of several swatting and bomb threat incidents throughout the United States directed at high schools, historically Black colleges, mosques, FBI division buildings and various officials.
“The Defendant … is responsible for hundreds of swatting and bomb threat incidents throughout the United States. These incidents include … the FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge,” court documents read.
The teenager is being held without bail at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility. The teen’s arraignment is scheduled for March 19.
