Man charged over threats of public execution at U of S

A 24-year-old man is facing charges of uttering threats toward the University of Saskatchewan after online posts were made calling for public executions Wednesday night.

The Facebook posts suggested there would be public executions of “Saudi leaders” in the U of S bowl on Thursday at 3 p.m., tagging the university in the text.

Police said the suspect’s vehicle was located near campus just before 9 a.m. Thursday and U of S protective services was able to arrest him without incident shortly after.

Students weren’t notified of the threat until an email was sent out at 11:30 a.m. that morning.

In a statement Friday, the university said they didn’t send out an emergency alert to the student body because police didn’t want to alarm the suspect.

“The decision to not issue an AlertUS message was made to give SPS and Protective Services the best chance to apprehend the individual without incident,” it wrote.

“This is exactly what happened as he was taken into custody shortly after arriving on campus.”

The statement noted “many options” were considered at the time to ensure student safety, but “because of the effective process followed by SPS and our safety team these options were not required.”

The university added the man charged in the incident has been banned from campus.

Police said the accused was charged with one count each of uttering threats to cause death and breaching a court order, and he is due to appear in court in October.