Canadian charged after faking school shooting threat, hostage situation in Florida swatting calls

A Canadian man is facing charges after making dozens of swatting calls to a sheriff’s office in Florida over the course of two months, officials said.

William Tuckett, 20, was charged with three counts of public mischief and three counts of conveying false information for making false reports of crimes to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, the Sault Ste. Marie Police in Ontario announced Friday.

Tuckett is accused of calling about a school shooting threat and a hostage situation, which were ultimately determined to be fakes.

Swatting involves a person calling in a false police report to a target’s home for a violent crime such as a murder, hostage situation or other crime that would require a greater law enforcement response. The goal of the false police report is to prompt a SWAT team to respond to the target’s home. These hoaxes are illegal and can be deadly.

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William Tuckett, 20, was charged with three counts of public mischief and three counts of conveying false information. (Sault Ste. Marie Police)

Authorities said Tuckett called the sheriff’s office on Feb. 16 at around 4 p.m. and claiming he was driving to a local school with a gun to shoot students and staff. Deputies responded to the threat but, after a thorough investigation, they determined there was no immediate threat to public safety.

The following morning, at about 5:30 a.m., Tuckett allegedly called the sheriff’s office again and said he was holding a victim hostage at gunpoint at a residence in Ocala, Florida. Law enforcement responded to the scene, secured the residence and determined everyone in the home was safe and that nobody was being held hostage.

On March 18, the sheriff’s office contacted Sault Ste. Marie Police about the calls.

Following a joint investigation involving both agencies, officials determined that Tuckett had made dozens of false reports to the sheriff’s office regarding a person in their jurisdiction that the suspect knows.

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Detectives from the Sault Ste. Marie Police’s Investigation Services Division arrested Tuckett at his home.

William Tuckett is accused of making false reports of crimes to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)

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Tuckett was held in custody pending a bail hearing and has since been released. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 22.

There have been several swatting incidents targeting U.S. Republican and Democrat public officials since Christmas, including Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Republican Reps. Brandon Williams of New York and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Boston Democrat mayor Michelle Wu and Maine Democrat Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.