False threats to Halifax military base cause anxiety, provoke investigation

A senior military commander in Halifax says two false reports in two weeks of a suspicious person prowling the base with a gun created anxiety and are being investigated in an attempt to determine their source.

The Shearwater base was locked down on Monday and on April 26 due to the anonymous phone calls, resulting in residents and base employees having to stay indoors for more than an hour in each instance as military police and RCMP searched the area.

Capt. Chris Sutherland, base commander of CFB Halifax, says the perceived threats are examples of “swatting” – hoaxes involving a fake 911 call designed to draw a reaction from first responders.

Sutherland says the activity occupies resources and creates needless inconvenience and worry for the roughly 1,200 people who live or work on the base on the outskirts of the city, near the suburb of Eastern Passage.

“It puts people in hazardous situations. It drains vital first responder resources … who should be dealing with real emergencies when they occur,” said the officer in an interview on Tuesday.

In the first case, someone called a staff member at the gym and said they’d seen a suspicious person with a gun near the gym, resulting in a three-hour lockdown.

In the more recent case, a person called a commissionaire and claimed they’d seen a threatening person with a gun near a base convenience store, prompting a base closure that lasted more than 70 minutes.

Sutherland said the base quickly returned to its normal activities following the lockdowns.