Police across Canada and the United States were kept busy Thursday with scores of mysterious bomb threats.
Toronto Police constable David Hopkinson tells NEWSTALK 1010 "more than 10" threats were reported to them, beginning at 11 a.m.
Hopkinson says the threats didn't seem to be clustered in any particular area of the city. He would not share which locations had received threats other than the TTC's King Station, which was evacuated for a time as a precaution.
"So far they've all be false, but we treat them as if they are absolutely real. We investigate and take them very seriously," Hopkinson said.
Hopkinson would detail how the threats were made
Police in York and Peel Regions report that several bomb threats were emailed to businesses and individuals, demanding Bitcoin payments. Threats were also made in Ottawa, Timmins, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Penticton.
Demands for $20,000 in Bitcoin also landed in American inboxes. Authorities in the United States have dismissed the threats, written in a choppy style reminiscent of the Nigerian prince email scam, as hoaxes.
"We are currently monitoring multiple bomb threats that have been sent electronically to various locations throughout the city," the New York City Police Department's counterterrorism unit tweeted. "These threats are also being reported to other locations nationwide & are NOT considered credible at this time."
Authorities said a threat emailed to a school in Troy, Missouri, about 90 kilometres northeast of St. Louis, was sent from Russia.
with files from the Associated Press