Authorities: Teen made phony 911 calls to get 'swatting' response from police

A 16-year-old Grayslake-area boy faces a pair of felony charges after authorities say he made three phony 911 calls Wednesday to elicit an emergency police response, a crime commonly known as "swatting."

The teen, whose identity was not released, was arrested and sent to juvenile court on two counts of false reporting to 911, according to the Lake County sheriff's office.

Authorities say sheriff's deputies first responded about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday to a 911 hang-up call from an apartment complex on the 33600 block of North Royal Oak Lane near Grayslake.

The call was made by a cellphone and the caller shut the phone off immediately after calling, sheriff's police said. Deputies checked several apartments but found no one in need of help.

A second 911 call came in about two hours later, with the caller reporting he had been injured, was being held against his will and had seen a firearm, authorities said. The caller provided an apartment number, then hung up and shut off the phone.

Deputies went to the apartment the caller mentioned but found no one in distress.

A third 911 call came in about 5:45 p.m., with the caller reporting he was about to be shot before again hanging up and turning off their phone, sheriff's police said.

The sheriff's office was able to pinpoint the exact location of the call using advanced software, authorities said, and found the 16-year-old boy. He later admitted to making the calls, sheriff's police said.

The boy was released to his family's custody pending further court action, the sheriff's police said.