A 34-year-old Nanaimo man is accused of making several fake 911 calls reporting a shooting with casualties at Nanaimo District Secondary School on Thursday, Oct. 21. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

FAKE CALLS

Mischief charges laid against Nanaimo man after fake 911 calls

Oct 25, 2021 | 10:09 AM

NANAIMO — Local police have pressed charges after a series of fraudulent 911 calls were made about a school shooting.

Aaron Edward Craig, a 34-year-old from Nanaimo, faces charges of public mischief, breaching a court order and breach of probation after police said he made numerous 911 calls on Thursday, Oct. 21.

Reports of a shooting in the area of Nanaimo District Secondary School area came in on Thursday around 1 p.m. when a caller claimed shots were fired at a local school and people were hurt.

Calls from police to the school indicated no such event, with students at nearby Fairview Elementary already dismissed for the day due to parent-teacher interviews.

“When the officers involved were satisfied that it appeared the calls were a hoax, the investigation moved towards identifying who was responsible,” Cst. Gary O’Brien said in a release.

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A lockdown, which was in place for approximately 20 minutes, was lifted at NDSS.

Police quickly tracked the calls using cell phone locator technology and existing databases to identify the owner of the phone.

Those records then lead officers to a vehicle which was found along Howard Ave. around 2 p.m. Edwards was arrested a short time later.

Craig remains in custody and his next scheduled court appearance is Nov. 2.

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