‘A waste of police resources’: Banff RCMP call apparent hostage situation at hostel a hoax

RCMP are investigating after they say a hostage situation that allegedly played out in Banff this week turned out to be false.

Officers responded to reports that a man had shot a person at the Banff International Hostel on Tuesday.

Police said they contained the hostel and were able to reach the suspect by phone, with him claiming to have shot someone and taken hostages. He made threats to shoot again and blow up the hostel, RCMP said.

Several police resources responded to the scene, but on Wednesday police said the threat was found to be a hoax. The investigation determined that the call came from outside Canada using a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system, RCMP said.

“False reports of critical incidents are a waste of police resources and create the potential for danger as police execute an urgent response and prepare for tactical considerations,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Buxton-Carr in a news release.

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“The members of Banff and Canmore detachments who reacted to this event should be praised for their measured response and their thorough investigation.”

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The swatting incident remains under investigation.