A student at the Regina Assumpta private college in Montreal was expelled Thursday after making “explicit threats” online, which led to a police investigation overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. He could face death threat charges, according to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
The parents of thousands of students at the private College Regina Assumpta, in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in Montreal, received a disturbing message late Thursday afternoon.
The management of the school told them that a police investigation carried out during the night from Wednesday to Thursday had led to the arrest of a student at the school. He had made “explicit” threats to the College on social networks the day before.
“Although the threat was not specific, and given that everyone’s safety is the top priority at the College, we, at the risk of being overly cautious, communicated immediately with the police authorities,” said management. in the email sent to parents.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has confirmed that an investigation was conducted starting Wednesday evening by police officers from the Ahuntsic sector and investigators from the North Criminal Investigations Division.
Student arrested and expelled
The police investigation made it possible to identify, in the early morning of Thursday, the origin of the message. The SPVM’s cyber investigation module collaborated, says Jeanne Drouin, media relations officer for the SPVM. Investigators were then able to identify a suspect, a 16-year-old young man.
“The police arrested a student from the College in the morning, underlines the management in his email. The investigation concluded that the author of the violent remarks did not represent a legitimate threat to the College and the members of its community. »
The suspect was met by the investigators and was shown to be collaborating, affirms Mme Drouin. He was released on a promise to appear at the end of March. He could face death threat charges, she said.
College students went to school as usual on Thursday. The student under investigation was expelled.
“This situation leads us to reaffirm that no message of violence or threat can be tolerated in our educational environment,” adds the management of Regina Assumpta.
The school administration was unable to grant us an interview on Thursday. “We have chosen, in accordance with our values, to act with transparency with our staff members, parents and students by informing them in detail of what has happened in the last hours”, however specified. by e-mail Charlotte San Agustin, responsible for communications and development of the strategic plan for the secondary school.