Two charged for ‘swatting’ incident at Baker school last month

BAKER, Fla., Dec. 21, 2023—Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigators identified two teens as the source of a “swatting” call at Baker School last month.

An emergency call about an active shooter threat at Baker School Nov. 3 turned out to be a swatting call, according to the OCSO.

Swatting is when someone calls in a fake emergency such as an active shooter at a school in order to have emergency responders converge on the location.


Related:False active shooter incident at Baker School


Identified in the incident are two 14-year-olds who are facing felony charges and are believed to be part of a national swatting group called “LulzSEC” that pays members with cryptocurrency to commit crimes.

LulzSEC member Camwryn Gully of Mansfield, Texas, told investigators that former Baker student Landyn Whittington, who was an online student at the time of the crime, asked for a member of the group to swat Baker School.

Whittington faces a number of felonies in conjunction with multiple swatting calls across the country, including in Houston; Ewing, New Jersey; Buckeye, Arizona; and Clayton, Indiana.

The swatting call, which came into the Crestview Police Department at 8:46 a.m., said there was an armed individual preparing to start a mass shooting at Baker School.

Crestview High School and other area schools were also locked down as a precaution.

“The hoax call led to a massive, immediate and intense response by law enforcement and other emergency responders, sending fear through the entire community and taking them away from potential legitimate emergencies” said Sheriff Eric Aden. “This crime is no prank. It has real and dangerous consequences.”

Sheriff office investigators traced the call to an address in Mansfield. The Mansfield Police Department conducted an interview there with Gulley, that lead to a search warrant for his cell phone.

Information from his phone led back to Whittington and “LulzSEC.”

Gulley said he knew Whittington from that group and through online gaming.

The group is believed to be responsible for swatting incidents across the United States and in Canada.

The name once belonged to a short-lived black hat (i.e., criminal) computer hacking group in 2011. It is unclear if the current group using the name has any connections to the original group.

Gulley is expected to be extradited from Texas to Okaloosa County where he will face charges of making an electronic threat of a mass shooting, making a false report of firearms being used in a violent manner, use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, as well as interference with school functions.

Others are also under investigation.

“In our school district, the safety of our students and staff is the number one priority,” said Okaloosa School Superintendent Marcus Chambers. “I could not be more proud of our students, teachers, staff, principals and parents for how they reacted to the events that unfolded at Baker and Crestview schools.

“I want to express my gratitude for the patience and understanding of the parents and all the first responders who reacted swiftly and worked diligently to bring this individual to justice. We will not tolerate any behavior, hoax or otherwise, that has the potential to threaten the safety of our schools,” he said.

Chambers and Aden urge parents to speak with their students about the serious consequences of making such statements and to remind them to report any suspicious activity to their school resource officer or administrators.

Holt had a swatting incident in July, according to OCSO.

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