swatting

Irisa Leverette said she was home with her 18-year-old son, Darius, who is autistic, when North Brunswick police arrived on a hoax emergency call.

Police say the former student made at least two bogus 911 calls in Bergen County

It's not a question of if, but how many bomb threats, swatting calls and evacuations will plague New Jersey's schools over the new academic year.

This is the latest case in New Jersey of so-called swatting, in which people phone in phony bomb, hostage or other violent threats, resulting in a massive police response that often targets unsuspecting and innocent people.

For some schools, it's the fourth recent threat.

Advances in technology is making it harder to crack down on swatters

The wave of swatting incidents in New Jersey and across the country in recent weeks are not only impacting police departments and their budgets, they are impacting children emotionally.

The Manchester woman charged with making a bomb threat to the Ocean County Mall is proclaiming her innocence and said she had let a stranger use her phone prior to the May 30 incident.

The surge in "swatting" incidents has continued and law enforcement officials are concerned that the dangerous trend is causing a drain on some municipal budgets.

Toms River police have arrested a 24-year-old Manchester woman in connection with a bomb threat at Ocean County Mall in Toms River on May 30. The threat was one of several  "swatting" incidents that have plagued New Jersey towns in recent weeks.