Bail granted in prank gun call that led to massive emergency response

By News Staff

Toronto police have made an arrest in connection with an alleged prank gun call that saw a bustling part of the downtown core cordoned off for several hours.

Last Thursday afternoon around 1 p.m., police received a call about a man with a gun who had forced someone into a marijuana dispensary on King Street West, near Blue Jays Way.

The call prompted an immediate and massive response, with ambulances, artillery vehicles and heavily-armed Emergency Task Force officers swarming the area.

Streets were shut down and TTC vehicles were diverted, causing a massive traffic backlog.

“Quite a few resources were used,” Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook told CityNews last week. “And there were quite a few different services in attendance and it was a disruption to say the least in the area.”

Local businesses also complained they lost significant income as a result of police closing the area to all vehicle and foot traffic for most of the day.

In the end, police didn’t find anyone with a gun on the premises, and concluded the call was a time-consuming and costly prank.

Police later said they believed the fake tip was called in from a payphone near Spadina Avenue and Cecil Street, and released security images of a suspect.

On Wednesday, Gregory Frank Goodridge, 54, was arrested. He’s facing a single count of public mischief.

Goodridge made a court appearance on Thursday and was released on bail on a promise to appear in court on a future date. His bail conditions include not being within five meters of the marijuana dispensary targeted by the alleged prank call.

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