Three teenagers have been charged in a massive international school “swatting” incident in February. Charges are pending against another in England as well, Edmonton police announced Thursday.
On Feb. 11, multiple schools in Edmonton began receiving phone calls threatening either a bomb or impending attack by an armed suspect. The schools were placed on heightened alert, and in some cases initiated lockdown procedures, while members of the Edmonton Police Service responded.
Officers were told the calls were made using an online app and that the caller had either an English or Scottish accent. The EPS School Resource Officer Unit began coordinating with affected schools and it became clear they were part of a large-scale hoax, according to police.
The EPS Cyber Crime Unit was able to link the calls to similar ones being made to Calgary schools and even a school in Texas.
In total, nine schools and one bank in Edmonton were called with the threats. The affected locations in Edmonton were:
- Eastglen High School
- Centre High
- Beacon Heights School
- Westbrook School
- Highlands Jr. High School
- Edmonton Christian High School
- Rio Terrace School
- Meadowlark Elementary School
- Canadian Western Bank (location not specified)
- Jasper Place High School
Five schools in Calgary received similar calls over the course of Feb. 11, 12 and 20.
The schools targeted in Calgary were:
- Bishop Pinkham School
- Sundance Elementary School
- Centennial High School
- Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School
- Annie Gale School
Police said, in Edmonton, temperatures were around the -20 C mark and some schools were evacuated, forcing students out into the cold.
“It’s sad to see that people would take advantage of that and to disrupt people’s lives just to monitor and watch social media,” Det. Philip Hawkins said.
After an investigation, police said the calls were traced back to the United Kingdom. After contacting officers in the UK, EPS officers learned the calls were linked to over 80 similar hoax calls made to the Netherlands, England, Scotland and the USA.
Hawkins wouldn’t specify how police tracked the suspects, but said it was through their digital footprints.
“All of these apps and everything that we use, it’s all based on a network, it’s all based on technology and everything that you do leaves a footprint so depending on what they used, there’s different footprints left in different areas and that’s what we’re trained to do these days is to find that and trace that back.”
Police from Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands and the UK collaborated on the investigation and laid numerous charges against three youths. The teens cannot be named, but police said they are between 15 and 17 years old.
“The amount of school and police resources these calls take up, not to mention the distress they cause to children, teachers and parents, is unacceptable,” Det. Philip Hawkins, with the EPS said.
“We left no stone unturned in this lengthy investigation, even across international borders, and three suspects are now facing charges in their home country.”
Each teen is facing six charges under Scottish law that include charges under criminal law, the communications act, the postal services act and wasting police time, the EPS said.
Hawkins said no charges will be laid in Canada but, if they were, police likely would have laid charges of uttering threats and public mischief.
Calgary police issued a statement Thursday afternoon, saying charges would not be laid since the offences originated in Edmonton and it was an EPS investigation.
CPS added that these types of calls are taken “extremely seriously” and that police will continue to thoroughly investigate these types of incidents.
“Public safety is always a priority for the Calgary Police Service,” the statement read.
“Swatting calls have the potential to create significant risks for both public and officer safety and can require an extensive amount of resources to respond and investigate.”
In total, the series of calls resulted in 47 EPS vehicles being deployed and affected more than 4,000 Edmonton students. Six schools were placed in lockdown for a total of 4.75 hours.