Elyria man charged in PNC Bank swatting incident

ELYRIA — An Elyria man was arrested in connection to a swatting call that sent a heavy police presence to PNC Bank in Elyria on Friday. Jeremy Oster, 33, has been arrested and charged with swatting and inducing panic, both felonies, after police said he placed a false call of an armed suspect at the unstaffed bank branch on Second Street in an attempt to distract police from an ongoing search for a suspect. "Swatting" refers to a false police report made with the intention of drawing a heavy, armed police presence to a specific location. According to a news release from Elyria police, detectives believe that Oster placed the call as a diversion to attempt to interrupt officers who were "actively attempting to locate a wanted individual at the time of the swatting incident." The false emergency call was placed at 11:31 a.m. on Friday, and caused Elyria police to respond with an armored vehicle and weapons drawn. Once it was determined that there was no active threat at the branch, which functions only as a drive-up ATM, police began investigating the call as a swatting incident. Oster was identified as a suspect through the investigation and Lorain and Elyria police identified a vehicle associated with him and Lorain officers pulled the vehicle over with Oster driving on Leavitt Road. Elyria police arrived and interviewed Oster, and the department said that during this interview, Oster admitted to placing the call "in an effort to assist a friend." Oster was placed under arrest, and taken to the Lorain County Jail where he remains awaiting his initial court appearance. It is the second swatting incident this week in Lorain County, following a fake mass shooting threat to Columbia High School on Thursday that police say was made by a 12-year-old in northern Florida. Elyria Police Chief James Welsh said false calls are becoming a problem for police departments through the proliferation of technology, including artificial intelligence. "We are going to use whatever resources we can to identify who these callers are and prosecute them to the fullest extent we can," he said. "Obviously, the information age is great and all, if it is used appropriately, but under these circumstances, it becomes problematic for everyone."