Warrants issued after threats texted to students
Ontario teen facing several charges after series of schools lockdowns
CALGARY Medicine Hat police have issued arrest warrants for a 17-year-old Ontario resident after threatening, anonymous texts were sent to high school students in March, resulting in a series of school lockdowns in the southern Alberta city.
The teen, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is facing charges of criminal harassment, uttering threats, identity fraud and public mischief.
Police were called around 7:15 p.m. on March 6 to respond to reports that five teens had received an anonymous text message threatening to harm them. The following day, the local school districts made a decision to lock down several schools in Medicine Hat and surrounding areas.
Investigators soon learned another police agency in Alberta had received similar complaints, with threatening texts specifically naming young people in that community.
It was later determined there were victims in other parts of Canada and the United States who had received similar messages.
Police discovered the text messages had been sent from someone using anonymous phone numbers from an online service provider, and some of the victims had also received harassing and threatening messages through social media.
“The activity originated from an expropriated Facebook account of a young person whose security features had been compromised,” Medicine Hat Police said in a statement.
“It was also determined that the person responsible had assumed at least one other young person’s online identity, creating fictitious social-media accounts using unprotected online photos and personal information.”
Eventually, investigators traced the text messages to a residence in Elliot Lake, Ont.
They learned a 17-year-old girl who lived at the home had been arrested and charged with criminal harassment, uttering threats and public mischief for online activity targeting young people in her community in 2015.
She was released on bail with conditions to refrain from accessing social media, including using text messaging applications.
On March 24, police in Ontario — on behalf of the Medicine Hat police — executed a search warrant on the Elliot Lake home and seized computer and electronic devices, which were sent for forensic analysis.