More schools closed after Manitoba middle school receives another threatening voicemail

Several schools in southeast Manitoba were closed Friday after a round of threatening voicemails came in over the last week.

The Hanover School Division said all Steinbach schools and Kleefeld School are closed Friday after Clearspring Middle School (CMS) received the threatening voicemail late Thursday afternoon. According to an update on the division’s website, the caller issued threats to CMS and Steinbach Regional Secondary School.

“We take threats to schools or persons very seriously; therefore, upon receiving the voicemail today, staff immediately contacted the RCMP,” the post on the division’s website said.

“The RCMP are taking this very seriously, and an active investigation continues to be underway. We thank the RCMP for providing support to the Hanover School Division.”

According to the division, all Steinbach schools and Kleefeld School will switch to remote learning on Friday.

This comes after two similar voicemails were left last week at CMS, one of which directed a threat to that school.

“Upon investigation, the RCMP determined the call was associated with a US telephone number,” Hanover School Division superintendent and CEO Shelley Amos said in a letter posted to the school’s website on Jan. 19.

“There are indications that this is not a legitimate threat, but this has not yet been confirmed. An active investigation by the RCMP is underway.”

CMS was closed the next day out of an abundance of caution, the division said.

Another threatening voicemail came to CMS on Thursday, issuing threats to Kleefeld School.

Both CMS and Kleefeld School were closed Thursday as a result of those messages.

RCMP say those previous three calls originated from the same phone number in Wisconsin, but police there have ruled out the homeowners.

Officers are now trying to track down the caller by focusing on identifying the IP address associated with the calls.

- With files from CTV's Charles Lefebvre