Several businesses across B.C. have been evacuated due to bomb threats, as part of an apparent emailed threat being sent to locations nationwide.
Sgt. Janelle Shoihet with the BC RCMP confirmed to Black Press Media Thursday that a number of businesses have received emailed threats, including several in the Lower Mainland.
“We are working to establish the source and legitimacy of the threats as well as conducting a risk assessment,” she said.
BREAKING: BC RCMP Sgt. Janelle Shoihet has confirmed there have been a number of threats reported across B.C., including in the Lower Mainland. Could not speak to specifics as information is still being collected. @BlackPressMedia https://t.co/gH9Htk9glL
— Ashley Wadhwani (@ashwadhwani) December 13, 2018
Shoihet could not confirm specific locations at this time.
Police in Penticton have confirmed that multiple bomb threats were received by Honda, Hyundai and Skaha Ford dealerships Thursday morning. Neighbouring business have also been evacuated out of caution.
#BREAKING Employees at the Penticton Honda, Penticton Hyundai, and Skaha Ford have been evacuated due to an alleged #provincewide bomb threat. Follow @PentictonNews for more updates pic.twitter.com/eXMCfVGk9x
— Jordyn Thomson (@JordynThomson01) December 13, 2018
The Comox Valley RV dealership was also evacuated due to a similar bomb threat, according to employees.
Danny Keyes, dealer principal of Comox Valley RV said around 10 a.m., staff received an email to one of the corporate email addresses which threatened to ignite a bomb if the dealership didn’t pay a certain amount of money.
https://twitter.com/ErinHaluschak/status/1073316763838771200
Dealerships in Vernon, Kelowna, Victoria, Kamloops and others were called by Black Press Media reporters but said they have not been alerted to any threats.
Const. Kelly Brett with the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP confirm police received complaints regarding a threat to a local businesses and a request for payment.
“We have assessed the complaints and launched an investigation,” said Brett. “We can also confirm that a series of similarly worded threats have been received via email by various businesses throughout the province.
An autobody shop in Abbotsford also received the email.
One busy subway station in downtown Toronto was briefly evacuated this afternoon due to a threat received in the area, but was up and running again within hours.
The emailed bomb threat appears to have been sent to businesses in the U.S. The New York Police Department said in a statement that the email contains a bomb threat and asks for bitcoin payment. So far, no devices have been found through searches by officers in that city.
“Law enforcement across BC are currently working to determine the source and legitimacy of these threats, and are conducting a risk assessment,” added Brett. “The nature of the threat or the businesses involved will not be disclosed, in order to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigations.”
At this time, it appears that these threats are meant to cause disruption and/or obtain money. We’ll respond to each call regarding these emails to conduct a search but we wanted to share this information so the credibility of these threats can be assessed as likely NOT CREDIBLE.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 13, 2018
Police in Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Winnipeg, as well as several RCMP detachments, were also investigating multiple threats.
With files from Jordyn Thomson with Penticton Western News, Erin Haluschak with Comox Valley Record
@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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