Three teens were identified by the Los Angeles Police Department as the primary suspects in two “swatting” incidents at the home of L.A. Black Lives Matter leader Melina Abdullah, the department said Friday.
The incidents, which happened on Aug. 12, 2020 and again in September 2021, were linked to a group operating on the “Discord” chat platform that was found to be behind swatting incidents across the nation, police said in a statement.
“Swatting” involves someone making a prank call to police that ultimately results in armed emergency services being dispatched to a home or location where no incident is actually occurring.
In both incidents involving Abdullah, who has been openly critical of the LAPD, the department was harshly criticized for its responses, according to the L.A. Times.
The main suspects in the cases linked to Abdullah are said to be three teens who were motivated by racism, police said. All are between the ages of 13 and 16 and two live in Medina, Ohio and Yonkers, New York. A third, who is the main subject of the investigation, is also a U.S. citizen but is living overseas in Cyprus.
In addition to Abdullah, the trio and their group is suspected of making at least 30 other false emergency calls across the U.S. Their targets include video gamers, activists like Abdullah, schools, airports and houses of worship, among others, investigators said.
Their calls date back to July 2020.
Detectives with LAPD’s Major Crimes Division partnered with the FBI to uncover the advanced prank scheme.
“Subjects were using advanced software, overseas servers and privacy tools to hide their electronic trail,” LAPD said.
On Nov. 9, 2021 search and arrest warrants were served in Yonkers, New York and Medina, Ohio to capture two of the suspects. In addition to the arrests, investigators were able to seize “numerous electronic devices” that will undergo forensic analysis by the FBI and U.S. Secret Service.
LAPD said several of the swatting incidents organized by the group were deemed to be racially motivated.
The case against all three teens will be presented to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office as criminal conspiracy and creating a false emergency, LAPD aid, adding that investigators wil also request that the DA consider a hate crime enhancement.
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