A threat at Westwood High School’s senior campus, located in Hudson, west of Montreal, had some parents questioning whether to keep their children home Monday.
Teresa Bressan Lambert’s son received a message on Snapchat Sunday night from a friend saying that there was a threat and none of their classmates would be going to school.
“The information was excessively vague,” she told Global News.
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Quebec provincial police were made aware of the threats Sunday night and have increased security measures and police presence in the area.
“We are taking this seriously,” said Sûreté du Québec (SQ) spokesman Daniel Thibodeau.
According to the school’s email to parents, the threat was a written message on a picnic table.
It was found by the drama teacher, who had taken her class outside during last period on Friday.
“It seems that there are three different people that would have been involved in writing this message ‘warning,’ ‘shoot up the skool,’ ‘don’t come to school’ as there are spelling mistakes and the no spelling mistakes for the same words and also the writing is different,” the email states, adding that the school has been in touch with the SQ.
“Students who wrote on the picnic table do not understand the seriousness of this.”
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Parents were sent an email from the school Monday morning; Bressan Lambert received the email at 7:25 a.m, but her son had boarded the school bus 15 minutes earlier.
“The bigger part of all of this is, if you knew Friday, why are you only waiting until our kids are practically in school to advise us?” said Bressan Lambert.
“If we had, had this information in advance that said, ‘the police have investigated. It is not true, It is a hoax.’ However, I think parents would have made the decision for themselves.”
“I sent him on the bus and before he actually reached school, people were talking about it on Facebook.”
READ MORE: Another threat found on wall at Kitchener high school
Bressan Lambert said when her son, who is in Sec. 5, got to school, he texted to tell her police were on site and there were only five students in his class.
“He heard, ‘parents b—-ing the principal out’ for not sending a note. Parents were freaking out,” she recalled.
“When the kids get to school and the police are already there, there’s a big hype. One particular parent came in frantic and excessively upset and she was already in Châteauguay working and she left to go pick up her daughter or son right away.”
According to the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB), the school was right not to use the emergency response system to warn parents “about what in the end is graffiti.”
“If you use the emergency response system too frequently, then it starts to use its validity,” explained David Chisholm, regional director for the LBPSB.
“If you do that, then you’re perhaps helping the perpetrators of the graffiti in creating panic.”
The school decided to act only after hearing about the rumours and chatter on social media.
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“The atmosphere was heightened because of events in the U.S., but it was also heightened by social media,” he told Global News.
“It becomes difficult for administrators to be able to anticipate and monitor social media for things that are going to be inflamed.”
The investigation is ongoing, however, Thibodeau said it is too early to say who is responsible.
“Some parents decided to take their kids out as a preventative measure,” Thibodeau told Global News.
“The threat doesn’t seem to be founded.”
Thibodeau warns the suspect(s) could face criminal charges.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
Follow @rachel_lau
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