Bomb threats targeting Muslim students holding “Islamic Awareness Week” at Concordia University in Montreal have been reported and the university has asked everyone to evacuate the EV and Hall Buildings as a precaution. Authorities are on the scene investigating though no “suspect items” have been found at this time.
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What Happened?
UPDATE: March 2, 4:01 A.M. EST: Police have arrested a 47-year-old man in connection with the bomb threat. No information about the suspect or potential charges is available yet.
UPDATE, 3:40 P.M. EST: The Montreal police’s search of three buildings at Concordia University has not uncovered anything suspicious following a bomb threat targeting Muslim students.
Montreal police are investigating after a letter was sent to local media outlets Wednesday threatening to set off bombs specifically targeting Muslim students in two on-campus buildings.
The letter was mailed to the Montreal Gazette as well as other outlets. It specified two buildings – the Hall building on de Maisonneuve Blvd. and the Engineering, Computer Sciene and Visual Arts building on Ste-Catherine St. – as potential targets “where Muslims hang out.”
One of the buildings is hosting an Islamic Awareness Week between Monday and Thursday, according to reports. It is believed that the letter was sent from a group that calls itself Council of Conservative Citizens of Canada. The group wrote about their displeasure with Muslim students at Concordia.
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“Now that President Trump is in office south of the border, things have changed,” the letter said.
The group’s letter also threatened to “detonate once per day, a small artisanal amateur explosive device.” The letter goes on to say that the bombs are “not meant to kill anybody. The only aim is to injure some Muslim students.” The group also demands that the university cease “religious activities of all kinds on campus.”
Montreal police spokesperson Benoit Boisselle said several officers are investigating on campus at the moment.
“We don’t know yet whether the threat is founded,” he said. “The suspect sent by e-mail that he put some explosive items inside a few places inside the buildings. Lots of police officers are onsite right now. They looked around, they did not find any suspect items.”
This bomb threat targeting Muslim students at Concordia comes exactly one month after the mosque shooting in Quebec City (January 29).
What Is Concordia University?
The University’s John Molson School of Business is consistently ranked within the top 10 Canadian business schools, and within the top 100 worldwide. As of the 2014-2015 academic year, there were 46,378 students enrolled at Concordia.
A statement on the school’s website regarding the bomb threat reads, “Concordia is cooperating with police who are now on-site investigating a potential threat in these buildings.”
“If you are in these buildings, you are asked to leave immediately. This applies to all faculty, staff and students, as well as members of the public.”
According to the university, classes are cancelled until at least 6 P.M.
Concordia University
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Public Reactions & Tweets
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