SuppliedCharges have been laid against a University of Alberta student in relation to a bomb threat that was posted online.
Edmonton Police Services have charged 20-year-old U of A student Ryan Fang with “uttering threats and conveying a false message with intent to injure or alarm.” The charge was made in relation to a post on Chillabit, an online discussion board for U of A students, that talked about plans to bomb the administration building on North Campus and at Campus Saint-Jean.
“Planning to bomb the University administration building, and the St. Jean admin building in protest,” the post said. “Email me at [email protected] for info and to join.”
Cheryl Voordenhout, communications advisor for EPS, confirmed that Fang was charged in relation to the post. Fang was unavailable for comment.
The post was made under the Campus Saint-Jean topic thread on April 16 and was discovered afterwards by Samuel Gagnon, a U of A alumnus.
“I discovered the bomb threat,” Gagnon said. “It had been made two days ago but no one noticed because the CSJ feed is dead.”
Gagnon sent screenshots of the threat to his friends and encouraged people to report it to UAPS. UAPS then forwarded that information to the police.
More to follow.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Cheryl Voordenhout, communications advisor for EPS, confirmed that Fang was the author of the post. Voordenhout later clarified that while Fang was charged in relation to the post, whether or not if he was the author has yet to be decided in court.
