Man arrested after threats against Edmonton organizations, including Journal/Sun staff

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A 32-year-old man has been charged with making threats against more than a dozen Edmonton organizations, including the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun newspapers.

On Wednesday morning, Edmonton police were called to the newspapers’ office in downtown Edmonton after an employee received an email from a man threatening to harm staff and damage the building, EPS spokeswoman Carolin Maran said in an email.

The email, sent Tuesday, threatened to “shoot up” the building, then detonate explosives.

Investigators evacuated and searched the building. Most staff are working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police eventually determined the man who sent the email “was also responsible for several emailed threats to other Edmonton organizations earlier this week,” Maran said.

The man was arrested Tuesday without incident and was already in custody when the threat against the newspapers was reported to police.

Maran said EPS “takes all threat complaints seriously.” Investigators, however, do not believe “there was any concern for public safety associated with the threats in these incidents,” she said.

Mark Halfe has been charged with 14 counts of uttering threats and 14 counts of conveying false information with the intent to alarm.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

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