Teenager arrested near Manchester over "threatening" phone calls to USA

Schools and businesses in Arizona were reportedly targeted

Author: Associated Press ReporterPublished 15th Apr 2022

A teenager in England has been arrested in connection with threats of violence against schools and businesses in a Phoenix suburb, police in Arizona have said.

According to the Scottsdale Police Department, the person who made the calls on April 8 and April 11 claimed he had a gun and was going to "shoot up" or was en route to particular schools.

Other threatening calls were made to a school district office and several businesses, a police statement said.

With help from federal Homeland Security Investigation and the agency's counterpart in London, a teenager was identified and arrested on Tuesday near Manchester, police said.

The teenager is also accused of possessing indecent images of children and distributing them across the internet, the statement said.

"He will remain in the United Kingdom and go through the justice system there," it added.

The teenager's name was not released, and Officer Aaron Bolin, a Scottsdale police spokesperson, said the United Kingdom's privacy laws bar disclosure of the teenager's age, specific charges he faces or whether he was being prosecuted as an adult.

First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Hits Radio app.