Police arrest teen after bomb threat against John F. Ross CVI

A teenager faces multiple charges after a bomb threat at a Guelph high school. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte reports.

The Guelph Police Service said they have arrested a teenager after a high school was closed by a bomb threat Monday morning.

A school administrator for John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute called police around 6:15 a.m. to report a threatening email the school had received overnight.

In an email to CTV News at 7:42 a.m. Heather Loney, a spokesperson for the Upper Grand District School Board, said the board decided to close the school to students and shift to remote learning for the day while police investigated the credibility of the threat.

“The safety and well-being of students is always our number one concern and the top concern of all our staff members,” Loney said.

Meanwhile, the response from police was resource intensive.

“We did at one point this morning have 10 officers on scene here, preventing access to the building,” Guelph Police Service spokesperson Scott Tracey said.

“We did have assistance here today with a bomb-sniffing dog. As witnessed by their response early this morning, it does take a significant number of resources for something like this. Of course, it’s a large building that has to be contained.”

Police announced they had completed a search just before 11:30 a.m. via a post on social media.

“Nothing of concern was located. The investigation is ongoing,” the post said.

Arrest

Police confirmed a 14-year-old was arrested on Monday. The teenager was charged with public mischief and two counts of uttering threats.

The teenager was released and is scheduled to appear in court.

“The Guelph Police Service recognizes the importance of school safety and how threats of this nature can be difficult for students, staff and their families,” a release from police said.

“Police take incident like this extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with school boards to help identify the individuals responsible and lay appropriate criminal charges when a suspect is identified,” the release continued.

Although the school remained closed to students for the rest of the day, Loney said the school would reopen on Tuesday.

‘Thinking it was going to be a normal day’

For at least one Grade 9 student, it was a shock when they got to school in the morning only to find multiple police vehicles surrounding the building and tape blocking off the entrance.

“I didn’t even know. I was just going to school thinking it was going to be a normal day,” he told CTV News.

“I didn’t know there [was] a bomb threat at all.”

He said he knew something was wrong when he got an email from the school that classes would be held remotely for the day.

The threat, and the police response it prompted, impacted nearby businesses as well. At least one business was closed for a short period of time during the investigation.

One shopper named Tom had stopped by the plaza across from the school and was shocked to see what was going on.

“Bomb threats across the street? Man, that’s crazy to hear something like that,” he said.