A 2014 swatting incident in Long Island, N.Y., cost $100,000. Another 2015 swatting incident in Denver cost $25,000. It is difficult to estimate the average cost of a swatting incident since it can significantly vary based on several factors, including the response by law enforcement, disruption of services, potential damages, and legal proceedings, among other things.Ī 2015 swatting incident in Rochester, New York, cost $15,000. What Do Swatting Incidents Cost Taxpayers? In December, NPR also reported that one man made hundreds of false active shooter reports to hundreds of K-12 campuses and law enforcement agencies, impacting at least eight counties in Georgia. During that same time frame, at least 28 states reported hoax 911 calls about active shooters on school campuses. NPR estimates nearly 200 schools were targeted last year in September and October. See the monthly breakdown of Riedman’s findings below. As of March 4, 2024, there were at least 51 incidents so far this year. Now, more specifically, how common are swatting threats on K-12 campuses? According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, maintained by researcher David Riedman, there were at least 723 swatting hoaxes at K-12 schools in 2023 alone. Chief Scott Schubert with the bureau’s Criminal Justice Information Services said these efforts will provide the FBI with “a common operating picture of what’s going on across the country.” How Common Are Swatting Incidents at K-12 Schools? The following month, the FBI launched a national online database to help facilitate information-sharing between hundreds of police departments and law enforcement agencies. In April 2023, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) finally called on the FBI to track these incidents more closely and work to prevent them. The same boy is also accused of making hundreds of swatting threats against Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), homes of FBI agents, and government offices.
The teen referenced Satanism and somehow simulated gunfire. 2024 for allegedly calling police to say he was entering the Masjid Al Hayy Mosque in Florida to carry out a mass shooting. Some perpetrators have targeted multiple subclasses with swatting threats, including a 17-year-old boy who was arrested in Jan. Hal Berghel, a computer science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, wrote in a March 2023 report that swatting has become so common that several subclasses have already been defined, including celebrity swatting, gamer swatting, partisan swatting, and hate swatting.
Perhaps more shocking is a 2023 survey from the ADL that found 11% of teens and 5% of adults say they experienced swatting in their lifetime. So, how common are swatting threats? The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) estimates there were at least 1,000 swatting incidents in 2019. Related: School Swatting: Why It’s So Dangerous and How to Combat It