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Iowa 17-year-old facing charges for attempting to hire hitman to kill child, police say

Police say the victim and their family were not aware of the possible threat, and were not harmed in the incident.

STORM LAKE, Iowa — A Storm Lake teenager is facing criminal charges after she tried to hire a hitman to kill a young child, Storm Lake police said in a press release. 

Police say they were contacted around midnight on June 2 by the webmaster of a parody site called rentahitman.com

The webmaster told authorities an unknown person visited the site twice to try and solicit the murder of a 7-year-old.

According to police, the requests put into the website included personal details about the child, including their name, address and where they could be found.

In the early morning hours of June 2, police say an undercover officer contacted the suspect posing as a hitman. 

The suspect confirmed with the officer that they wanted the child killed, and set a time that the child would be home.

Later that same morning, police say they took the 17-year-old female suspect into custody. She has been charged with one count of solicitation to commit murder.

Police say the victim and their family were not aware of the possible threat, and were not harmed in the incident.

The suspect has been referred to juvenile court. Her name has not been released.

Local 5 will update this story as more information becomes available. Download the We Are Iowa app or subscribe to Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter for the latest.

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