Investigators say they have linked two swatting incidents in southeastern Minnesota to a terrorist organization that targets children through extortion and violence.

Swatting is when someone makes a false report, intending to trigger a large-scale response.

On Tuesday and Thursday, the Red Wing Police Department says officers were called to two separate emergency calls reporting multiple shooting victims at a residence on the 1300 block of East Avenue.

Red Wing's Investigation Unit says evidence suggests those involved in the incidents are connected to an "extremist group" that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI as a terrorist organization. Authorities did not name the organization.

Red Wing Police Chief Nick Sather calls swatting a "huge issue." 

"The problem with these elicit phone calls is they do, they get a response because we don't know what occurred," he said. "So, what happens is our ambulance gets staged, our police and fire get ready."

The fake calls had police suspicious from the start. 

"We kind of knew from the get-go what we really thought this was. Because the information was so vague. It actually seemed pretty unrealistic," said Sather. 

Investigators said in many cases, swatting is related to online gaming. Often, the victim has given out too much information online.

Sather said that was likely the case in Red Wing. He said the group may have targeted a teenager living in the home through gaming and asked him for gifts or money. 

"I'm guessing he refused to do what they wanted him to do they said, you know what? We are going to do something to you," said Sather. 

A man in the United Kingdom has been arrested in connection with the case. Sather is using this as a teaching moment for parents and teenagers. 

"People really need to be careful especially with social media, even gaming online. People share information through their gaming systems, talking to kids, talking to people. Who they are talking to, you don't, really know. You never know who really is on the other side," said Sather. 

In the Red Wing swatting case, the callers had claimed multiple people had been shot and killed inside the home. 

Police said in both cases they arrived on scene but also called the family to let them know why they were outside, and to verify the calls were false. 

The investigation into the incident remains open, police say.