Medical student suspended after being charged with threatening Dal dean, student

HALIFAX – A Halifax man has been charged with uttering threats against a dean and student at Dalhousie University.

Stephen Gregory Tynes, 30, is a current medical student at Dalhousie, a university spokesperson confirmed. He is charged with two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and one count of engaging in a threatening conduct. He was arrested in Truro last Thursday.

Court documents obtained by Global News state police allege the threats were uttered to Dr. Terry Chisholm, a psychiatry professor at Dalhousie. The threats were allegedly aimed to harm Evelyn Sutton and Ellen MacDonald.

Sutton is the dean of admissions at the Dalhousie Medical School and the head of the rheumatology division. MacDonald’s LinkedIn profile indicates she is a Dalhousie medical student.

Police also allege Tynes’s threatening conduct was directed towards Sutton.

Dalhousie spokesperson Janet Bryston said Tynes has been suspended from the medical school, from the university and from all Dalhousie campuses.

She said campus security has been made aware of the charges and are in close contact with police.

“We have a strong presence around the medical school today as a result of this case, but the security plan we have in place goes beyond having a presence at the doors to the building. However we won’t be providing details of the steps we are taking for security reasons,” said Bryson.

A psychiatric assessment has been ordered to determine whether Tynes is fit to stand trial.

Tynes appeared in Halifax court Wednesday. He was released on numerous conditions including a requirement to live in Truro with his father and to abstain from alcohol and controlled substances. The conditions also indicate he cannot be within 25 kilometres of the IWK, except if accompanied by his father and mother and with the exception of medical emergencies.

He was charged with willfully killing a cat last year but the case was dismissed.

Bryson would not comment on whether Chisholm, Sutton or MacDonald were on leave from the university as a result of the case.