Police in Hamilton have laid criminal charges against a 14-year-old youth from Ottawa, accusing the teenager of orchestrating a series of dangerous "swatting" incidents that triggered large-scale emergency responses.
Seven False Calls Trigger Police Deployments
The Hamilton Police Service alleges the youth is responsible for seven separate swatting incidents reported between December 2025 and January 2026. In each case, the caller falsely reported serious, violent crimes in progress at residential addresses across Hamilton. The fabricated emergencies included reports of domestic violence, shootings, and homicides.
Following investigations into each call, officers determined all seven were hoaxes designed to waste police resources and cause alarm. Swatting is a serious criminal offence that involves making false reports to emergency services to provoke an armed, tactical response—often from SWAT teams, hence the name—to an unsuspecting person's home.
Cross-Province Investigation Leads to Charges
As part of their probe, Hamilton detectives executed a search at a residence in Ottawa. Police seized multiple electronic devices during the search for forensic analysis. The evidence gathered led to the mischief charge against the Ottawa teen.
The accused, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was released from custody. The youth is scheduled to appear in court in February 2026 to answer to the charge.
The Dangers and Consequences of Swatting
Swatting is treated as a major crime by police forces across Canada due to the significant risks it creates. These hoax calls divert critical emergency resources away from real life-and-death situations, potentially causing tragic delays. They also place both the unsuspecting residents at the targeted address and the responding officers in grave danger, as police must approach these calls as legitimate, active threats.
Hamilton Police are asking anyone with information related to this case to contact Sergeant Goran Zivkovic at 905-546-2406 or to provide tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers. The investigation underscores the serious legal repercussions for those who engage in swatting, regardless of their age.
