Dozens of schools in Canada's Quebec evacuated after receiving bomb threats

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Wednesday 04 Nov 2015 - 17:25 Makkah mean time-22-1-1437 CBC image Ottawa (IINA) – Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said that those responsible for the bomb threats at dozens of schools in the province will be prosecuted. Some 71 schools across Ottawa region were evacuated, closed or searched after receiving bomb threats from an anonymous mailer on Tuesday morning, CBC News reported. "Frankly, the people responsible for this tactic, whatever the nature of it is – and of course, we will allow the investigation to take its course – they have to know that they will be prosecuted, and that the investigation will be rigorous, if we are successful in identifying them," Couillard told reporters Tuesday at the National Assembly. Provincial police sent out a statement late Tuesday afternoon confirming that searches were completed. No bomb was found. Schools across the province and in the greater Montreal region were searched and in some cases, evacuated, as well. The Montreal police were in charge of searching seven schools on its territory. Nothing was found in any of those searches either. "Notwithstanding the fact that these threats seem to be unfounded, they are taken very seriously by police and will be the subject of an investigation which will be coordinated by the Sûreté du Québec," read the police statement. The group claiming responsibility for the threatening notes calls itself "Red Scepter". CBC News has learned that it is the same group that sent threatening emails to Ottawa schools last week. Last Thursday, at least five schools in the Ottawa-Gatineau area received threatening emails. There were further threats to a few schools on Friday morning. Police investigated and said all the threats were hoaxes. Interim Quebec Security Minister Pierre Moreau said the note cited anger at teachers' unions and quality of education as the main motivations for the threats. AB/IINA