Three in court on 'active shooter' calls charges

Merseyside Police worked with the FBI on the investigation

Three men have appeared in court charged with making hoax "active shooter threat" calls to US and Canadian police.

Dylan Ash, 18, from Warrington and Kieron Ellison, 18, from St Helens appeared at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice in Canada and in the US between October 2022 and June 2023.

Liam White, 22, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, appeared alongside them charged with the same offences following a joint Merseyside Police and FBI investigation.

The charges relate to so-called "swatting" incidents, which take their name from SWAT ( Special Weapons And Tactics) teams, the US police units that respond to dangerous situations.

White and Ash are also charged with a third count of conspiring to pervert the course of justice in the US between July 2023 and October 2024. The defendants were not asked to enter pleas to the charges.

District Judge James Clarke granted all three bail to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 29 May.

Bail conditions for Ash and Ellison forbade them using social media sites such as Discord, Telegram and X, the court heard.

White was told not to contact the other two defendants.