Hamilton police say threatening notes have been drawn in the past two days warning of school shootings on the bathroom walls of at least four Hamilton schools.
Also, this week there was a separate incident in which a student took a shotgun to an elementary school. No one was injured.
In response to questions about shooting messages, police told The Spectator that there have been a total of five reports of threat notes to public and Catholic schools since Friday, including four between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Const. Krista-Lee Ernst said the notes were of a similar nature, posted on bathroom walls or stalls and warning of impending shootings, and posted at three local high schools and one elementary school:
- Westdale High School;
- Hillcrest Elementary School; i
- St. Paul’s Catholic High School Jean de Brebeuf.
“Police take incidents like these very seriously and will continue to work closely with school boards to help identify those responsible and file appropriate criminal charges when a suspect is identified,” police said in a statement.
Two police cruisers were hanged outside of Westdale on Wednesday, warning of a shooting threat to a school on the bathroom wall, Ernst said. The message included the words “June 3,” he added.
Families of Westdale students were informed of the incident in a letter from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board on Wednesday afternoon, which said police would be present at the school on June 3.
“We take incidents like this very seriously,” the letter said. “We continue to work with our school community to ensure that students understand the impact that threats have on people and the overall school climate.”
Letters were also sent to the families of Hillcrest and Bennetto Elementary School students, the last of whom saw a student carry a shotgun at school on Wednesday.
“The item was not used. The students were not in danger,” the letter said, adding that the banned weapon was quickly detained and police were called in for support.
Ernst said a threatening note was also left in Bishop Tonnos’ toilet on Wednesday afternoon. It comes just days after Ancaster School informed parents of another message, posted at a bathroom stop last Friday, threatening a June 3 shooting.
“The safety and security of our students is our number one priority and I congratulate the staff of the two schools (Bishop Tonnos and St. Jean de Brébeuf), as well as the Hamilton police, for the speed with which they have investigated these threats. and how we did our best to communicate information to parents, “Daly said in a telephone interview.
The series of recent threats at local schools comes a week after the murder of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school on May 24th.
There are also a couple of recent incidents related to schools and threats in the Greater Toronto Area.
A good handful of Scarborough schools were blocked on May 26 after a man was reportedly carrying a gun. The man, who was carrying a shotgun, was killed by police.
On May 31, an Oakville high school was closed, and other schools close to his hands were secured, after a 16-year-old boy was reportedly walking around with a gun replica. Halton police said Monday the teen has been charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Hamilton police ask anyone with information about local incidents to contact investigators at 905-546-4925.
To remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppershamilton.com.
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