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
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.