Virginia youth have gone from Prince Albert in a can to SWAT calls

Prince Albert in a can was a harmless prankPhoto byWikipedia

Prince Albert in a can was annoying but harmless

When I was growing up in the 1960s, there was a prank where people would call a store and ask if they had Prince Albert (tobacco) in a can. If the clerk said yes, the response would be, "Then let him out!" These calls were annoying but harmless.

Things have changed; today, young people are making threatening and dangerous swatting calls that misuse 911. An eleven-year-old Virginia boy has admitted to making SWAT calls across the country, including to the Maryland State House.

Prank calls today are dangerous.Photo byLyyfe WilliamsonUnsplash

Swatting calls are dangerous

According to WSLS 10, the boy has been charged in "Florida with calling in more than 20 bomb or shooting threats to schools and other places." During a news conference, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said that authorities had worked hard to find the caller and stop him before the next school year resumes.

Investigators tracked the calls to a home in Henrico County, Virginia, and local deputies found the 11-year-old boy who lived there. He admitted to placing swatting calls in Florida, Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Alaska, and the Maryland Statehouse.