WATCH ABOVE: A massive police response after someone called in a hoax this morning caused disruption at five Brampton schools. Catherine McDonald has more.
TORONTO – Peel Regional Police suspect a case of “swatting” may have been the reason behind a school lockdown in Brampton Tuesday morning.
The Peel District School Board said Gordon Graydon Senior Public School was locked down around 8 a.m. while Harold F. Loughin Public School, Madoc Drive Public School and Allan A. Martin Senior Public School were placed in hold and secure.
The police orders were lifted just before 11 a.m. after no credible threat was found.
Peel Regional Police said they are looking at the possibility the call at Gordon Graydon was the result of a ‘swatting’ case.
The act is named after police SWAT units after a caller tricks a 911 dispatchers into believing a serious crime or emergency is taking place.
Police tell Global News a 911 call came in from a person who said they were going to enter the school with weapons and planned to cause injury.
Police say “a lot of resources” went into the call with dozens of officers attending the scene at Gordon Graydon.
“This is something that has to stop,” said Constable Lilly Fitzpatrick. “I can’t see how this is remotely funny.”
Police responded to a swatting case north of Toronto on Sunday where heavily armed officers entered a home in Richmond Hill under the impression someone had been shot.
LISTEN: Police release 911 audio in Toronto-area ‘swatting’ incident
In a 911 audio recording released by York Regional Police, the unknown caller tells the dispatcher that his father had an assault rifle and had shot his mother.
After placing an innocent man into custody, police quickly determined the 911 call was indeed a hoax.
Police are currently seeking the public’s help identifying the individual who made the telephone call.
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