A Newfoundland teenager has been convicted of extortion and uttering a threat after he told a fellow high school student he would bring an AK-47 to school and shoot people if he was not paid for a damaged vaping device.
Corner Brook provincial court Judge Wayne Gorman outlined his rationale in a sentencing decision dated last Thursday, Sept. 12.
The male youth, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, made the threats to a younger boy during a February phone call.
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The accused told the other boy that if he did not pay him for the damaged vape, he would bring an AK-47 to school and shoot people, starting with the younger boy and his friend.
At the trial, the judgement says, the incident was corroborated by several other students who witnessed the accused make the call,and distinctly remembered hearing mention of a shooting or the AK-47.
Gorman wrote that he did not believe the youth actually intended to shoot anyone, but he was convinced the accused made the threat in order to scare the other boy into paying him for the vape.