A bomb threat at a New York casino in the early morning hours of Tuesday landed a teenager in jail.
At approximately 2 a.m., police responded to a bomb threat at Rivers Casino in Schenectady. Officers worked with casino employees to evacuate the entire casino and hotel, then used explosive detection dogs to search the property.
Police gave permission for visitors to return to the property around 4am
“The Schenectady Police Department would like to thank the security staff at Rivers Casino and the Montgomery County Police Department for their assistance with this incident,” the police department noted after the incident.
Arrested
After securing the scene, officers began investigating the source of the call. The department was able to determine who made the call, according to reports, and arrested Shenelle M. Rexha, 19, of Amsterdam.
Police claim the call was a “swatting” incident. the BBC He describes the act as “making a prank call to the police and claiming a serious violent crime so that a heavily armed SWAT team (SWAT Team) sent.”
Beatings appear to have increased in recent years, wasting law enforcement efforts and frightening and frustrating victims. Schenectady police have not provided a motive Rexha may have had behind the alleged hit call. He has now been charged with felony false reporting of an accident in the second degree.