Police say an arrest has been made in connection with a school threat that was posted on social media and circulated across Chatham-Kent earlier this week.
Waterloo Regional police say they arrested a youth after some threatening graffiti turned up on a storage unit near the football field of Jacob Hespeler Secondary School in Cambridge.
A release from the Waterloo Regional Police Service says "the graffiti stated [quote] JHSS - school shooting April 6. [quote]"
Police say a picture of the threat was shared on social media, adding that concerned parents contacted the Waterloo Regional Police Service. Waterloo Regional police the youth they arrested in connection with the case is charged with mischief and uttering threats.
At the same time, Chatham-Kent police say they were investigating a tip about a photo with a threatening message in it that was circulating on social media in two Chatham-Kent schools, but officers are now confident the target of the threat is outside of the region.
“As with any threat to public safety, we are taking this photo very seriously," Constable Renee Cowell told Blackburn News in an email. "I can assure everyone that we are working very diligently with school officials to ensure the safety and security of all students and teachers here in Chatham-Kent."
In the meantime, two school principals in Chatham-Kent are responding to rumours about the photo by posting letters online to reassure parents that their schools are not at the centre of the threat.
Don Zondag, the principal at John McGregor Secondary School (JMSS) in Chatham, posted a letter on the school's website on Tuesday, saying that on April 3, "school administration was advised of a photo and social media post that involved school graffiti with a threatening message."
Zondag says members of school administration immediately alerted Chatham-Kent police, adding that "upon further investigation, it was determined that this was not a threat to John McGregor Secondary School." He says the investigation also determined the threat is "related to a school in a different school board district."
Wallaceburg District Secondary School Principal Murray Hunt told Blackburn News that a similar reassuring message will be posted to his school's website by the end of the day Wednesday, adding the threat is not referring to WDSS. Hunt says from what he understands, it appears the school that the threat refers to is in the Cambridge area.
Lambton-Kent District School Board Superintendent of Education Gary Girardi confirmed with Blackburn News Wednesday morning that a photo with a threatening message attached was circulating in two LKDSB schools this week, but added that it has been determined that the message was not a threat to any Lambton-Kent schools.
Girardi says in the interest of transparency, the school board is posting messages regarding the alleged threat, adding that LKDSB officials are encouraging parents to have conversations with their kids about the seriousness of online threats.
Anyone with information about the photo and the threatening message that was circulating on social media should contact Chatham-Kent police or Crime Stoppers.