Saskatoon teen pleads guilty to 'swatting' bomb threat at Princeton University
16-year-old now faces extradition to Connecticut on similar charge
A Saskatoon teen has admitted to sending a bomb threat to Princeton University in September.
The 16-year-old pleaded guilty in a New Jersey court. He cannot be named because of his age.
A public information officer with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey said in an email that the teen entered a guilty plea to one count of third-degree false public alarm on May 28, 2021. He was sentenced to a probationary term of two years along with conditions that he perform 30 hours of community service, pay a $2,000 fine, surrender his driver's license for six months, undergo a psychological evaluation and follow any recommendations that come out of that evaluation.
The teen is also facing extradition to Connecticut, where he faces a similar allegation.
On Sept. 3, 2020, the Saskatoon and Edmonton police services joined with police in the U.S. to investigate "a youth engaged in 'swatting' activities on both sides of the border," said a Saskatoon police news release at the time of the boy's arrest this March.
Swatting is the practice of making false reports to police in hopes of provoking an armed response. The name derives from police responding to the calls with their special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams.
The teen was arrested in Louisiana while travelling there with family. He was extradited from there to New Jersey.
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