Minnesota Town Targeted By International Cybercrime Extremist Group, Police Say

RED WING, MN — The Red Wing Police Department says an international cybercrime investigation led to an arrest overseas after two recent “swatting” incidents in the city were traced to a global extremist group.

According to officials, officers and firefighters responded to two false emergency calls on Oct. 14 and Oct. 16 reporting multiple shooting victims at a home in the 1300 block of East Avenue.

Both calls were quickly determined to be hoaxes designed to provoke a heavily armed response.

Detectives with the department’s Investigations Unit uncovered evidence connecting the incidents to a coordinated cybercrime network that has targeted children and teenagers with extortion and threats of violence.

Authorities say the group is affiliated with an extremist organization recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.

Working alongside federal and international agencies, Red Wing investigators coordinated with law enforcement in the United Kingdom. On Oct. 24, an arrest was made overseas in direct connection to the Red Wing incidents, police said.

The case remains active and under investigation.