A youth in southeastern Manitoba was arrested and is facing charges related to uttering threats while playing an online game.
On February 19, 2016, just before 11am, Manitoba RCMP received information from the Onalaska Wisconsin Police Department as well as the Oswego New York Police Department of a potential threat to a school in Manitoba.
Police say that during a multiplayer online game, a threat was made by one of the players. The player stated that he was going to start a school shooting within hours but did not mention the school. Other players within that game immediately reported the threats to their local police departments. In this instance, the Onalaska Wisconsin Police Department and the Oswego New York Police Department.
Once reported, the involved US law enforcement agencies worked with the manufacturer of the video game console and later, the RCMP’s Integrated Technological Crime Unit to determine an exact address for the player making the threats. The investigation confirmed that the player’s account belonged to a youth from a small community in south-eastern Manitoba.
RCMP officers immediately attended the address of the player making the threats but were unable to locate him. All schools in the vicinity of the suspect’s residence were notified and patrolled by officers.
That same day, a 12-year-old youth was located at his residence and arrested without incident for uttering threats.
Further investigation confirmed that the youth did not have access to firearms. He was remanded in custody over the weekend and is now scheduled to appear in Court on March 1, 2016.
“The public expects us to assume the threats are real and our officers responded accordingly until we were in a position to confirm otherwise,” said Sgt. Bert Paquet of the Manitoba RCMP. “The quick thinking and prompt actions of officers from several different sections in two different countries were key to successfully locating and apprehending the youth associated to the threats.”
“From Onalaska, Wisconsin and Oswego, New York to a small community in Manitoba, the threats were immediately taken seriously, and investigated with promptness and efficiency,” added Paquet. “Our common border never hindered the progress of the investigation.”
The RCMP remind parents to monitor the online activities of their children by keeping video game consoles and computers in common areas as much as possible and to ensure that their children report any threats they may see online immediately to police.
