Nanaimo man officially charged for making fake 911 calls about school shooting
Thirty-four-year-old Aaron Edward Craig of Nanaimo has been formally charged with public mischief for allegedly making several fake 911 calls last week about a school shooting.
Craig appeared in Nanaimo Provincial Court on Friday and was also formally charged with breach of court order and breach of probation. He remains in police custody as of Monday.
The bogus calls were made shortly after 1 p.m. last Thursday. At that time, Craig allegedly made several fake 911 calls to the Nanaimo RCMP about shots being fired at a local school – and that there were multiple casualties. The caller did not indicate which school was reportedly involved, and only provided police a five-block radius in south Nanaimo.
Fairview Elementary and Nanaimo District Secondary School (NDSS) were immediately notified and placed in a lockdown.
Students at the elementary school had already been dismissed due to parent teacher interviews, and there were no concerns at their locations.
At NDSS, school liaison officers worked quickly to ensure that staff and students were safe and secure inside the school. However, no emergencies or suspicious activities had been reported at NDSS.
"When the officers involved were satisfied that it appeared the calls were a hoax, the investigation moved towards identifying who was responsible," said Const. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP in a statement Friday.
The North Island Operations Communications Centre was able to trace the location of the phone using cellphone technology and police databases. It determined who the phone was registered to and what vehicles were associated to the hoax caller.
By 2 p.m., officers were able to locate Craig, his vehicle and the phone on Howard Avenue.
Craig has been remanded until Tuesday Nov. 2, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.