University of Alberta student charged after bomb threats made on social media

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A University of Alberta student has been charged by police after bomb threats were discovered on a social media app last month.

On April 19, police were contacted by University of Alberta Protective Services after a post was discovered on a social media app called Chillabit. The post, made April 17, threatened to blow up two university buildings at a future date, possibly on April 30, police said.

Police began investigating immediately after the post was noticed, but found no evidence of any explosives on campus. Police said Friday an evacuation was not necessary.

The Edmonton Police Service Cyber Crime Investigations Unit identified the suspect and police made an arrest on campus April 20. After executing a search warrant at his residence, police charged Ryan Fang, 20, with uttering threats and conveying a false message with intent to injure or alarm. 

“Social media can give us the feeling of being anonymous and without consequence, but police take threats to public security very seriously,” Det. Philip Hawkins with EPS Cyber Crime Investigations Unit, said in a Friday news release. “This particular threat resulted in a large-scale police investigation of the student’s home that involved our tactical and bomb disposal units.”

Chillabit is a social media app designed for college and university students.