Send this page to someone via email

OCAD University, Ryerson University‘s Chang School, George Brown College and Humber College have received bomb threats that are being directed at post-secondary campuses throughout the city, police say.

Toronto police said the call came in just before 9 a.m. and that four schools and 10 campuses are involved.

Police said the threats are similar in nature and that these calls are being taken very seriously.

Chief Mark Saunders told reporters even if the calls turn out to be pranks, that police will still look to apprehend whoever is responsible.

“In the past we have apprehended people for making those false accusations,” he said. “But in the meantime, we treat it as a serious offense so I’m sure that the resources that we have who are highly trained in looking after these types of incidences are obviously going to be going through the scene and all of the steps for this type of investigation will be taking place.”

Story continues below advertisement

Officers are on scene investigating and working with the affected schools to determine if other evacuations will be necessary.

George Brown College said it received a threatening email, but that “classes and operations continue as planned.”

The college said police completed a sweep of all buildings and they were deemed safe.

“Please report any suspicious activity by dialing 0 on any college phone,” the college said.

OCAD said all of its buildings are being evacuated and the school will be closed for the rest of the day.

Ryerson said its students and faculty can go to the Podium building to receive further information.

Humber College said a search of all the campuses was done and that it is continuing to monitor the situation.

UPDATE: Toronto Police Service has cleared @GBCollege following their safety check of all campus buildings. All classes and operations continue as scheduled. We appreciate your patience & cooperation as we worked with TPS to ensure the safety of our community. — George Brown College (@GBCollege) June 18, 2019

Humber’s department of public safety contacted Toronto Police Services and are continuing to work with TPS on the investigation. We have conducted a search of all campuses & are continuing to monitor the situation. We’re working with & following the direction of Toronto Police, — Humber College (@humbercollege) June 18, 2019

Due to the receipt of a threatening email, we are working with police to investigate the situation. You will notice a heightened amount of police around campus. Please report any suspicious activity by dialling 0 on any college phone. More information as it becomes available. — George Brown College (@GBCollege) June 18, 2019

Update – 4 schools / 10 campuses involved.

– first call to @torontopolice 8:54am

– threats all similar in nature

– these calls are taken very seriously@OCAD @GBCollege @RyersonU @HumberCollege ^CdK — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 18, 2019

All buildings on OCAD U's campus are closed until until further notice. All buildings are being evacuated. Please follow directions of Safety and Security staff on site. Please your check student/staff/faculty emails and this space for updates. — OCAD University (@OCAD) June 18, 2019

IMPORTANT: The Chang School is closed for a police investigation. Community members are encouraged to go to the Podium building. Further details to come as they are available. — Ryerson University (@RyersonU) June 18, 2019

Story continues below advertisement