Man pleads guilty to making false bomb threats to schools

Federal prosecutors say a 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to sending false shooting and bomb threats to schools in the U.S. and Britain.

The Department of Justice says Timothy Vaughn of Winston-Salem, North Carolina was a member of the Apophis Squad, a collective of hackers intent on using the internet to sow chaos.

Prosecutors say, Vaughn, who used the online handle “WantedbyFeds,” entered guilty pleas Monday to multiple counts including conspiring to make threats and possession of child pornography.

A co-defendant, 19-year-old George Duke-Cohan of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, is currently serving a prison sentence in Britain for a hoax threat targeting an airliner.

The indictment alleged the Apophis Squad engaged in “swatting,” in which a phoney report is made to trigger the deployment of emergency response teams.