By James Wood

Police, AHS debunk “Muslim takeover” threats at Brooks hospital

Jul 11, 2017 | 1:44 PM

An inflammatory social media post out of Brooks appears to have no basis in fact.

The post, originally made to Facebook on June 28 by Gerald Huber, a Brooks resident, indicated that a man had entered the emergency room at the Brooks Health Centre on June 27, where he proceeded to make several threatening statements.

According to the post, the man announced that “Canada should be afraid” because Muslims and ISIS were going to take over Canada, with Canadians being “overthrown and burnt.” The man was then taken away by police.

“This is way too close to home,” wrote Huber.

“And I’m betting no media exposure will come from it.”

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The post was then shared multiple times, with one instance of the post being shared over 1,500 times.

However, the incident appears to have been officially debunked.

“Nothing has been reported to the Brooks RCMP regarding comments at the Brooks hospital,” said Corporal Gord Yetman, with the Brooks RCMP.

Yetman reviewed the detachment’s calls for service logs for the entirety of June 27, and found no record of police being called to the hospital or arresting a man.

Alberta Health Services also had no record of the incident.

Reached for comment about his post, Huber indicated that he had received his information second-hand, from a friend he declined to name.

“I would have no reason to discredit this fella,” said Huber.

“I have friends that I would take with a grain of salt if they told me something, for sure.”

Huber also indicated he didn’t know how far his post had reached.

“I will be honest, I’ve completely lost track on that post,” said Huber.

“So what’s happening with it at this point, I can’t really comment on, nor would I want to be affiliated necessarily, with what it sounds like is happening with it.”

As for his original motivation for posting the faulty information, Huber indicated he wanted to get the word out, stating that Brooks had been “known for a very long time for secrecy.”

“This is not an issue of racism, this is not an issue of people being bigoted against immigrants, and I wish people would get that rhetoric out of their freakin minds, because its not.”

While a complaint would need to be made for police to investigate the post and it’s commentary, Yetman indicated that posts like Huber’s were becoming more common.

“It’s definitely something that we’re seeing more and more of,” said Yetman.

“As social media gets more popular, and builds up more momentum, it’s something we see more of these days.”

He advised to double check information on social media.

“Before posting anything on social media, you should always be sure or confident in the source of the information,” said Yetman.

“It’s always a good idea to know what you’re posting, before you post it.”