Three teenagers in Scotland have been charged after shooting and bomb threats were made earlier this year against schools in five countries, including a number in Calgary and Edmonton.
Police say charges are pending against another youth in England.
The threats surfaced in February through an online calling app.
Nine schools and a bank in Edmonton, as well as five schools in Calgary, received calls, which prompted security protocols until it was determined the calls were part of a large-scale hoax.
Edmonton police say an investigation was able to trace the calls to the United Kingdom, where they were linked to more than 80 similar ones to the Netherlands, England, Scotland and the United States.
The three people charged, who are between 15 and 17, face several counts each under Scottish law and cannot be named because of their age.
“The amount of school and police resources these calls take up, not to mention the distress they cause to children, teachers and parents is unacceptable,” said Philip Hawkins, a detective with Edmonton’s cybercrime investigations unit.
“We left no stone unturned in this lengthy investigation, even across international borders.”
The investigation included collaboration with police services in Canada, the United States, the Netherlands and Britain.
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