Police say 16-year-old reported 6 fake bomb threats at NJ schools

PARAMUS — A 16-year-old is in trouble for half a dozen "swatting" calls that sent massive emergency responses to two area schools last week, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

The boy was arrested Friday after six bomb threats were called between that day and a day earlier, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

The calls, all using technology that made the phone line anonymous, referred to phony threats at a school in Hackensack and another school in Paramus, Musella said.

Law enforcement from the county regional SWAT team, Sheriff's Office and bomb squad, along with police and firefighters from Paramus and Hackensack all responded to the scenes before it was confirmed that there was no emergency.

The teen, not publicly identified due to his age, was charged with juvenile delinquency.

If the calls had been made by an adult, the charges would have been three counts of false public alarm, false report of a bomb and three counts of terroristic threats.

The teen was taken to the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center, pending Family Court action.