Wrong number: Man supporting Canadian truckers calls in bomb threat to Ottawa, Ohio
TOLEDO, Ohio – This was definitely the wrong number.
An Ohio man attempting to call in a bomb threat in support of truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions in Canada dialed what he thought was a number in the country’s capital. But he was off by several hundred miles, twice calling Ottawa in northwest Ohio, and now could be facing charges, authorities said.
Ottawa, Ohio, is the county seat for Putnam County, WTVG-TV reported.
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Brad Brubaker said the 20-year-old man from Akron used Google to find the telephone number in Ottawa, Canada, the television station reported. However, Google gave him the Ohio telephone number because it was closer to his home.
“He wasn’t paying attention and just called the first number he found,” Brubaker told WTVG. “He said he was mad about mask mandates.”
In the first call, the suspect issued a bomb threat for the address of Ottawa, Canada’s city headquarters, the television station reported. The man apparently hung up.
While Putnam County deputies attempted to trace the call, the man called back again, claiming he had been shot, WTVG reported.
This time, deputies kept the man on the phone long enough to trace the call and then corrected his geography, telling him he was calling an Ohio number.
The caller has not been arrested yet, but Brubaker said a recommendation for charges had been filed with the county attorney and that charges were “forthcoming,” the television station reported.
