‘I have an AR-15’: Canadian man made hoax call about Florida school shooting, deputies say
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Authorities say a Canadian man was arrested after he allegedly posed as a student and made a hoax 911 call about an active shooter at a Florida middle school.
Deputies said the man, William Tuckett, 20, believed he was in an online relationship with a 13-year-old who attends the school. When they stopped talking, he resorted to making hoax calls until the teen started talking to him again.
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On Feb. 16, he allegedly called 911 to report an active shooter at Dunnellon Middle School. The sheriff’s office released 911 calls on Facebook Monday. During the calls, Tuckett told dispatchers his name was “Nick,” and he didn’t want to give out his last name.
“I just wanted to let you guys know that I have an AR-15 and that I was about to go into my school right now, and I’m in a red SUV, and I’m about to go into my school and shoot everyone,” he told the dispatcher.
Tuckett told dispatchers he was in the school’s parking lot, but they later determined he lived in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Deputies and Sault Ste. Marie Police Services “uncovered a pattern of false emergency calls linked to Tuckett.”
Tuckett was arrested by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service on March 20 on three counts of public mischief and three counts of conveying false information.
“Through this collaborative effort by both the Office of the Sheriff and Sault Ste. Marie Police Services, we were able to apprehend the individual responsible for these dangerous hoaxes,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. “Public safety is paramount, and we will not tolerate actions that jeopardize the well-being of our communities.”
“Swatting poses a danger to law enforcement officers and civilians alike. Those found guilty of perpetrating swatting incidents will face arrest and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.
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