Calgary bomb threats part of a hoax, policy say

Calgary police say a string of bomb threats around the city on Thursday were part of a hoax sweeping across North America.

Police said they received 15 bomb calls in Calgary, including one at the Calgary Tower. The large number of calls caused delays in officer response times, but police believed the threats were all part of a hoax.

“At this time we don’t have any reason to believe they are credible. However, out of an abundance of caution we are treating each as if it is real,” police said in a statement.

The threats were being received by email and are “believed to be connected” to many other bomb threats in Canada and the United States this week, police said.

Calgary police said the first call about the threats came in around 11:30 a.m. after a business received a suspicious email.

Several other bomb threat calls came in shortly after the first. A total of 15 threats were reported on Thursday, but police said it’s likely many other emails were sent to businesses in Calgary.

Ottawa, Winnipeg, Montreal, Edmonton and Banff all received similar bomb threats.

The Alberta RCMP issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying the threats came with a demand for a Bitcoin, and asked anyone who received an email threat not to respond to the demands.

A bomb threat in the area of Toronto’s King subway station caused officials to evacuate passengers just before 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Subway stations between Bloor-Yonge and Union station were shut down, with service being restored a short time later.

Bomb calls south of the border prompted investigations on college campuses in Washington state and Pennsylvania, and in cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and San Francisco.

Police in New York said the threats were “sent electronically ” to places across the city, and linked the messages to others reported across the country.

The FBI said in a statement it is aware of the threats and is working with law enforcement.

Calgary police said they are not aware of any business or person threatened who paid the Bitcoin demand.

Anyone who received one of the suspicious emails is asked to call the Calgary Police Service nonemergency line at 403-266-1234.