Douglas Collier, formally known as Aaron Craig, will be sentenced in the new year for falsifying school shootings in Nanaimo on Oct. 21, 2021. (Victoria Police Department)

By Ian Holmes

guilty plea

Nanaimo man pleads guilty to reporting fake school shootings to 911, legally changes name after incident

Nov 7, 2022 | 5:49 AM

NANAIMO — False 911 calls claiming shooting victims at NDSS and Fairview Elementary School resulted in a guilty plea.

An upcoming trial was promptly cancelled for the offender, formally known as Aaron Edward Douglas Craig, who pleaded guilty to public mischief on Friday, Nov. 4.

Provincial court in Nanaimo was informed Craig legally changed his name to Douglas Aaron Edward Collier sometime after the Oct. 21, 2021 incident. Reasons for the name change were not revealed.

As a result of Collier’s calls, a lockdown was imposed at NDSS for about 20 minutes, while students at nearby Fairview school were already dismissed for the day for parent-teacher interviews. The caller reported people were injured as a result of shootings at the schools, but no such incident occurred.

Nanaimo RCMP stated when their investigators were satisfied the calls appeared to be a hoax they focused toward identifying who was responsible.

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Police said 911 operators traced the location of the phone, its registered owner and where the calls were placed.

The offender was arrested in his vehicle on Howard Ave. about an hour after the fake 911 calls were made, police reported at the time.

Collier’s lawyer Babak Zargarian told court mental health issues contributed to his clients behaviour.

A pre-sentence report and psychiatric evaluation were ordered by judge Brian Harvey.

The offender was charged with three other offences in connection to the fake calls incident, including a probation breach, which court was told will be addressed at sentencing.

Collier, who is not in custody, is expected to be sentenced some time early next year.

His criminal record includes sex crimes against a 13-year-old girl in 2009 where he was convicted in BC Supreme Court for sexual interference and online child luring involving a minor.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes