St. Michael Catholic High School in Kemptville, Ont. was closed for a sixth time in two weeks on Wednesday, as police investigate a threat of violence towards the secondary school.
The school was closed for a second day in a row after Ontario Provincial Police said there was “another anonymous threat of violence” directed towards the school on Tuesday.
“I can’t expand on any more information on the nature of the threats,” said Const. Dave Holmes with the Grenville County OPP.
“We won’t speculate on the connection of threats to one another, just that the threats are being investigated by our crime unit.”
Holmes says the local police are driving the investigation, but it remains unclear where the threats are coming from.
“It is an active investigation being led by the Grenville County OPP Crime Unit. We are still asking anyone from the public if they had information to contact the OPP.”
In a letter to parents and guardians Tuesday morning, the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario said it was notified at 3 a.m. of a “anonymous threat directed to St. Michael Catholic High School.”
The board says after consultation with police, the school is closed and all transportation has been cancelled.
“It’s just frustrating because we don’t know where they’re coming from, if they can be tracked,” said parent Patty Baird, whose son is in Grade 11 at St. Michael.
“I believe that the police are doing everything that they can. We’re not just going to ship our kids off on busses to the school without this being figured out.”
The Catholic high school was closed Oct. 3, 4, 7 and 8 following anonymous threats directed towards the school. The board said the school was closed on Oct. 7 and 8 because, “a full evaluation of threats to St. Michael CHS has not been completed in order to accurately assess the risk to public safety.”
That same reason was given for the school remaining closed this Wednesday, the 16th.
Typically, the communication about the threats to the school has first been received by the police, who have subsequently notified the school board during the middle of the night.
“We have still not been given an assessment of the risk to public safety at St. Michael. This assessment is typically based on a set of criteria that determines the degree of risk as being either low, medium, or high,” a note home to families said. “These ranges reflect a continuum of interventions, added measures, and vigilance, that can be applied to offset risk.
“Without meaningful risk assessment data, St. Michael will remain closed until we are given appropriate, criteria-based information by police.”
Baird says a trauma expert was made available to families online by St. Michael Catholic High School in the wake of the ongoing threats.
“He explained the difference between anonymous threats and violent threats that follow through,” Baird told CTV News.
“And anonymous threats, 100 per cent of them don’t come to anything happening.”
“It just seems the more time [students] are not in school, the less threats there are. And then as soon as they’re back in school, there’s more threats. It’s just a game right now to whoever is doing this, I feel.”
All schools in Kemptville were closed on Oct. 3 due to the alleged threat targeting St. Michael Catholic High School.