Brantford Police Service were on scene at Brantford General Hospital (BGH) after receiving a report of an online threat on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.
Robin Matthews-Osmond, Corporate Communications Manager for the Brantford Police Service, said the hospital initiated a lockdown after an individual had posted the threat online.
“We were there on Wednesday and there was a lockdown but it was dealt with, and there was no threat to public safety,” she said.
On Thursday, someone had located the original threat and shared it amongst a group, once again raising concerns. By the time police received the second report, the individual who made the threat on Wednesday was already in custody in another jurisdiction and had been charged with threatening.
Out of an abundance of caution, the hospital initiated a second lockdown on Thursday and police were able to determine the threat had been recirculated from the day before.
Osmond-Matthews said the incident was unrelated to threats made towards Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, or the incident at Norfolk General Hospital in Simcoe, both of which occurred on Thursday.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
