A 13-year-old Southern California boy has confessed to three different swattings, one in which he threatened to blow up a house with hostages in a suburban neighborhood, police said Friday.

"The Camarillo incident there were 20-plus officers there. I was at that call. We basically surrounded the house. The caller reported there were 10 hostages in the house and demanded $30,000 in cash or he would blow up the house," Det. Gene Martinez of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said in a telephone interview with Ars. "Whenever there is a hostage situation, we activate specialized units to respond."

The boy has been released to the custody of his parents pending a juvenile court hearing scheduled next month. Because of his age, his name was not released. He is likely to get a probation term as punishment.

The January swattings included two in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, and one of a rival Minecraft gamer in Ocean City, New Jersey, Martinez said. The other victims were a teacher and a classmate.

"He did admit to doing the incidents," Martinez said. "He felt he was wronged."

The IP address that the VOIP calls originated from in the New Jersey incident was traced to the boy's Camarillo, California residence. There, the authorities found phone spoofing software on a computer.

The boy is the second teen arrested in as many months in connection to swatting. A 19-year-old Las Vegas teen, Brandon Wilson, was arrested last month in connection to a July swatting incident in suburban Chicago.

Swatting has seemingly become a national phenomenon in the world of online harassment, with gamers calling police and claiming heinous crimes are underway. The calls usually prompt armed SWAT teams to arrive at the scene. Often, the emergency call appears to be coming from the innocent target's address.