Canadian man, 20, is charged with making DOZENS of swatting calls targeting Florida sheriff's office and local school

A Canadian man has been arrested for allegedly making dozens of phony calls to a Florida sheriff's office.

William Tuckett, a 20-year-old from Ontario's Sault Sainte Marie, was cuffed at his home in Canada this past week - after an investigation that involved both his hometown's police force and a sheriff's office 1,400 miles away.

Enter Marion County, where county cops received a call from a man believed to be Tuckett on February 16. The caller told deputies he was driving to a local school with a gun to shoot students and staff, spurring a police response that found no threat.

A day later, Tuckett allegedly called the Marion County Sheriff's office again - this time claiming he was holding a victim at gunpoint at a home in Ocala. Cops, in this case, responded again - only to find there was not only no hostage, but no suspect.

A month later, the mystery started to unravel when deputies contacted police in Sault Ste. Marie Police - resulting in a joint probe that found Tuckett had made dozens more calls to the MCSO, all regarding a person Tuckett knows in the county.

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William Tuckett, a 20-year-old from Ontario, was cuffed Wednesday for making phony calls to this Sheriff's office in Marion County, 1,400 miles away from his home in Sault Sainte Marie

County cops first received a call from a man believed to be Tuckett on February 16, a call that saw allegedly saw the suspect notify deputies that he was driving to a local school with a gun to shoot students and staff

In a statement over the weekend, Sault Ste. Marie Police outlined the circumstances surrounding the recent arrest, done at Tuckett's home a few days before.

'On March 20th, 2024, detectives with the Investigation Services division charged 20-year-old William Tuckett with public mischief and conveying false information,' officers wrote Friday, before pivoting back to the first call made on February 16. 

Cops recalled: 'Around 4:00 p.m. the accused called the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Ocala, Florida and told 911 Communicators they were driving to a local school with a gun to shoot students and staff. 

'Marion County Sheriff officers responded with a significant police presence to protect public safety,' the statement continued, citing the recent incident at Dunnellon Middle School.

'After a thorough investigation, officers determined there was no immediate threat to public safety.'

Still, valuable resources were expended so cops could rush to the scene as students and staff were forced to take shelter, fearing for their lives.

Local police chief Chris Scaglione - whose department is distinct from that of the Marion County Sheriff's - described the ordeal in a video interview, delivered to WCJB TV20 hours after cops overseas confirmed Tuckett's arrest.

'When you get those calls, got a gun, got a kid, got a bomb, your reaction is holy cow, is this the day?' Scaglione recalled, lamenting at the lost resources and mental trauma triggered by Tuckett's alleged actions.

Sitting down with the Gainesville outlet, Chief Scaglione conceded: 'So, knowing we don’t have to mentally go through that is very nice.' 

The station also interviewed parents and children affected by the incident, after Tuckett allegedly claimed he was parked outside of Dunnellon Middle with an AR-15, handgun and a bomb ready to enter the school.

The phony report - known as swatting - elicited a police response that found no actual threat

Local police chief Chris Scaglione - whose department is distinct from that of the Marion County Sheriff's - described his force's response to the false report in a video interview, lamenting at the lost resources and mental trauma triggered by Tuckett's alleged actions

The station also interviewed parents and children affected by the incident, as students were forced were forced to take shelter, fearing for their lives. Seen here is local parent Tammy Soffe and her son, a student at the affected school

Then, a morning after the school incident, Canadian cops recalled, the accused called the Marion County Office yet again, now telling them he was holding a victim hostage at gunpoint at a residence in Ocala.

The call came in around 5:30am, cops said - after which responding officers from the Florida police department 'secured the residence and determined all occupants were safe and there was not someone being held hostage.'

Over the next few weeks, dozens of false calls continued to flood the Marion Country Sheriff’s Office hotline, the ensuing joint probe found - with all of them being erroneous.

Cops in Sault Ste. Marie said the calls that came in regarded 'someone the accused knows in their jurisdiction' - an assertion that, as of writing, has yet to be elaborated.

When contacted by DailyMail.com Monday, Marion County Sheriff's Public Information Officer Valerie Strong deferred to officers in the Ottawa city - the ones who carried out Tuckett's arrest Wednesday.

The operation, they said, was carried out two days after staffers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office reached out to notify them about the calls, part a craze known as swatting, where a person calls in a false police report just for kicks.

When contacted by DailyMail.com Monday, Marion County Sheriff's Public Information Officer Valerie Strong deferred to officers in the Ottawa city - the ones who carried out Tuckett's arrest Wednesday.

Such calls, if coming under criminal investigation, could yield a charge of public mischief, which could mean a maximum punishment of 6 months as a result.

Following his arrest in Sault Ste. Marie, Tuckett has been released on bail - an amount that has yet to be specified as of Monday. DailyMail.com has asked the provincial police department for an update on the case.

Facing three public mischief charges and another three for the conveyance of false information, Tuckett is set to appear in court on April 22.

The maximum offense allowed for the latter charge in Canadian provincial court is two years.