Hamilton police have laid more charges in connection with a slew of threats made at Hamilton high schools across the city in early June.
A 17-year-old male is the latest facing an offence for an alleged June 3 bomb threat at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School.
Police spokesperson Const. Indy Bharaj said the youth was arrested on Monday and charged with uttering threats as well as mischief under $5,000.
So far police have made three arrests in the threat campaign, with a 19-year-old charged late last week in connection with a threat that ended up closing Westdale Secondary School last Friday as a precaution.
On Thursday, police announced that they had arrested a 14-year-old girl and charged her with mischief in connection with a message left on school property at St. Jean de Brébeuf Catholic Secondary School.
Bharaj told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton that last week was a “hectic one” with threat investigations initiated at 10 different schools in Hamilton.
At the heart of the matter were discussions with both public boards on whether schools should remain open or closed based the nature of the threats.
“All we could do on our side is … try to remain as transparent as possible and provide as much information to all the schools, parents and students alike just so they can make an informed decision as to how they would feel comfortable following through,” said Bharaj.
Bharaj anticipates more arrests and charges to be laid in the days ahead.
Investigators have no reason to believe any of the circumstances are connected nor spurred on by any social media challenge.
“There’s nothing to indicate that at this time, and that’s why all these incidents are being investigated separately as well,” said Bharaj.
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