I can somewhat remember asking my mom or dad what would happen if I called 911 like a prank call or just for kicks. They always responded with how rude it was or how the people on the other line were very busy and have jobs to do. Not to mention how much trouble I could get into. “Jail time” and “being grounded for the rest of my life and then some” was enough to tell me not to do it.

However, one Ohio teen thought it would be funny and made several prank calls to the police since August. The 17-year-old is accused of making “swatting calls” and was charged with 40 felony and 33 misdemeanor delinquency charges.

Swatting is the act of making a false police report, often with a violent crime, to urge law enforcement or SWAT teams to a location. It can also be triggered by a false report of a “mental health” crisis, such as reporting that a person is suicidal.

The boy is accused of calling the police on August 11 and saying that he shot his wife, had an AR-15 rifle and was holding his son hostage in Kent, New York. When law enforcement arrives, they were greeted with an empty house and no emergency. In fact, the owners of the house were out-of-state at the time.

After investigation, it was determined that the calls were made from Mahoning County and was linked to dozens of other similar cases around the country. The prank made its way into public eye because of similar pranks that were targeted towards celebrities, also for turning deadly.

Only a few weeks ago, a California man made a call that led to a fatal police shooting in Kansas. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Putnam County Sheriff Robert L. Langley Jr hopes that these cases will “dissuade others from joining in this type of activity”.