COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — An 11-year-old girl accused of making a false 911 phone call about an active shooter at Pleasant Run Middle School is waiting to take her competency evaluation.
In Hamilton County Juvenile Court on Tuesday, her lawyer said she needed more time for the evaluation and argued she is not competent because of her age.
While her lawyer didn't elaborate, her mother told WCPO in November her daughter is dealing with mental illness and bi-polar disorder. She also added that her daughter did not make the false threat.
"She falsely got arrested and she got expelled from school, so now I have to figure out other situations," said her mother. "I think they should have been more sensitive about this situation before they arrested her. I understand they scared a lot of families, a lot of children, but the situation that my daughter is going through right now is scary too."
This is coming at a time when some Ohio lawmakers want to make swatting a felony.
"Most kids who are doing the calling have either experienced some type of bullying at school or have had some issue with a relationship with someone and they want to harm that person," said Dr. Shantel Thomas, a mental health counselor. "But then there's also the ones who think this is just fun let's just see what happens let's see what happens to call the police out see how many police get here sometimes they're standing right there watching it."
Thomas has been trained to respond to mass shootings for the past 15 years, but also counseling kids and young adults who are dealing with the stress and trauma from swatting incidents.
"It all goes back to pain and how we cope with pain, hurt and those who don't are in fear and the aftermath of, and they think what's going to happen to me and my family after that and if they're in therapy, and you talk to a child about it, there's consequences for everyone," said Thomas. "Everybody is impacted by this one decision that you make and a lot of them just talking to them they won't make the call, or they will say i was just hurt I don't care I was just frustrated so we know kids just say that I don't care it doesn't matter life sucks."
Thomas added that many times, the kids who call in these false alarms are not thinking about the long-term consequences both at school and through the legal system. This is a time in a child's life when they are not full developed physically or mentally.
The girl's mother also said her daughter was expelled from school. A spokeswoman with Northwest Local School District said she wasn't allowed to say whether she was expelled or not because it's a personal matter.
The 11-year-old is scheduled to be back in court on January 3, 2023.
