UPDATE: Monmouth County authorities have given the "all clear" at the scene of the Freehold Raceway Mall evacuation site following a reported bomb threat Monday evening.
The disruptive trend known as "swatting" has taken New Jersey by storm. There have been several incidents this past week alone, prompting heavy police presence at a school, mall or hospital for absolutely no reason.
As more threats are made to more New Jersey schools, the Ocean County Mall opened as usual on Thursday morning following a false bomb threat that led to an evacuation, one of three across the state on Wednesday.
People convicted of calling authorities with false reports to get SWAT teams called to the scene could get up to 10 years in prison under a bill that advanced Monday in a legislative committee.