Ottawa Police are currently investigating the source of a series of tweets that contained a bomb threat directed towards Carleton on May 20 and 21.
The tweets went viral across social media and were reported multiple times to the Carleton Safety Department, who contacted the Ottawa Police.
Police found that the tweets were not credible and determined Carleton safe to attend, according to an Ottawa Police statement.
Beth Gorham, public affairs manager at Carleton, said that the administration found no reason to close campus activities.
The source of the tweets is thought to be in the United States, but has yet to be confirmed, Sgt. Steven Desjourdy of the Ottawa Police said.
“Although the threat’s not credible, that doesn’t mean we don’t investigate seriously,” Desjourdy said.
However, some Carleton students were unsatisfied with how the situation was handled.
“Honestly, I was really scared,” Salma Ahmed-Osman, a second-year law student, said. “I feel like they could’ve handled it maybe a little bit better.”
Ahmed-Osman said she thought the investigation was too quick to determine credibility when she attended classes the day after the threats were made.
“When I went to school yesterday, I thought to myself, ‘What if it actually happened?’” she said. “To me, they could have closed campus just to be sure, in case something actually did happen.”
Sancho Angulo, a third-year public affairs and policy management student, said he agreed.
“I was quite alarmed because this individual was posting photos of a pipe bomb and weapons,” he said. “I, like many students, live on a close proximity to campus, just walking distance. So, a lot of people were fearful for my safety after they saw [the threats] on various social media.”
Desjourdy stated that a large concern in the investigation was the spread of misinformation through the “borderless network of social media.”
“People sometimes have information, and they don’t communicate it to the authorities. They regurgitate on social media and create a hype [about it],” he said.
Angulo said he understood why the investigation ran as it did, stating he believes certain communication gets kept from the public so as not to compromise investigations.
“Understandably, we have questions and so people want to know whether they will be safe, but I think we need to know that law enforcement will do their job,” he said.
Jaime Sadgrove, a third-year communications student, said these threats hit home and that the authorities should have been more transparent about the investigation.
“The van attack in Toronto that [happened] has really shaken us all up. Threats like this seem a little less ridiculous in that context,” they said. “If school is going to remain open, I think students have a right to know the evidence that makes professors and the university think it’s safe to go back to school.”
Desjourdy said he urges that anyone with information about the threats should come forward to the authorities.
File photo
