A Canadian teenager was arrested Sunday in connection with three incidents of "swatting" in Polk County, officials said.
The 17-year-old was arrested in Coquitlam, British Columbia, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, officials said.
"Swatting" is a term used for a hoax in which a prankster calls law enforcement with the goal of having a SWAT team sent to a home, school or business.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the investigation started in September 2014 when an unidentified male called the PCSO Telecommunications Center and said he was going to "drive to Fort Meade High School in a black Jeep Cherokee and shoot everyone with AK-47."
Investigators said the same person then called Fort Meade City Hall with the same information. Law enforcement officers responded to the school and put the school on lockdown, then spent the next several hours searching for an armed suspect.
Detectives said they later identified the suspect as the Canadian teenager, who was communicating online with a minor who lived in Fort Meade. Officials said the teen told the witness "I am going to swat your school" just prior to the phone call.
The second incident happened in October 2014, when investigators said the teenager sent an email to the minor, telling her that he was going to "swat" her school. Investigators said the teenager sent an email to Fort Meade High School threatening to "blow everyone up." Police responded to the school, which was placed on lockdown until the threat was identified.
The third incident happened in November 2014, when investigators said the teenager called PCSO and told the dispatcher that he was in a Winter Haven home, that he had just killed his parents and that he would shoot law enforcement officers who arrived. Deputies, including K-9 units and helicopters, responded to the minor's home and quickly discovered that the call was a hoax.
Detectives said they identified the suspect in December 2014 and contacted Canadian law enforcement officers. Officials described the suspect as an "experienced computer programmer" known to Canadian law enforcement who is on probation for similar crimes in Canada. Officials said one of his terms of probation is supervised use of computers.
Officials said the suspect admitted that he was responsible for the "swatting" calls. He is also suspected in other cases in Canada and the United States.
The teenager, who is not being identified in accordance with Canadian law, remains in custody on charges of extortion, public mischief and breach of recognizance, which is similar to violation of probation.