Ottawa teen charged in multiple Hamilton swatting incidents, police say

Hamilton police have charged a 14-year-old from Ottawa in connection with multiple swatting incidents over the last two months.

For those unfamiliar with the term, “swatting” is the act of making false calls to emergency services to report serious crimes that aren’t actually happening. This is done in an effort to prompt a large-scale police response which is a misuse of emergency resources.

Authorities in Hamilton responded to seven incidents occurring between December 2025 and January 2026 – investigating each respectively, eventually determining that all calls were false.

Officers say that in each case, the caller alleged that serious criminal offences were taking place, requesting an urgent police response. Some examples of the false reports include allegations of domestic violence, shootings and homicides – deliberately directed at residential addresses in Hamilton.

As part of the investigation, Hamilton detectives executed a search warrant at a residence in Ottawa which resulted in multiple electronic devices being seized.

On Jan. 14, 2026, a 14-year-old from Ottawa was charged with public mischief.

Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is asked to contact police at 905-546-2406.

Those wishing to provide information anonymously can do so through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or on their website.

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