Threatening calls to Bishop Ryan High School were a hoax: Police

It was a hoax.

Hamilton police have confirmed the threatening phone calls that were made to Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School this week were a hoax and did not originate from within Canada.

The East Mountain Catholic school was forced to evacuate on Monday and Tuesday after calls threatening staff and students were made by someone. Police believe the same person made both threats.

Officers searched the school both days and did not find anything to validate either threat.

Investigators say they are confident the calls originated from the same source and were placed from outside the country to cause panic.

Police say there is no ongoing threat to the school community in relation to these calls.

On Tuesday, police said they were contacted at around 11 a.m. regarding a bomb threat that was received by phone.

2:37 Hamilton Police provides update on Bishop Ryan secondary school bomb threat

“At this point I can say that we haven’t seen anything to indicate that it’s a credible threat. However, as I mentioned yesterday, we take these things very seriously,” Hamilton police Supt. Will Mason said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon while the search was ongoing.

On Monday morning, school officials reported receiving two phone calls from a voice believed to be male. Police said the caller threatened to bring a weapon to the school and harm students and teachers, prompting a lockdown that lasted several hours. The threat was later determined not to be valid.

The caller on Tuesday had a similar voice, Mason said, and the phone number was the same. He noted that phone numbers can be spoofed to hide the origin of the call.