The Monseigneur-Richard secondary school, in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, was evacuated Tuesday morning following a hoax. This is the third event of its kind to occur in Greater Montreal in one week.
Posted at 11:53 a.m.
Around 8:45 a.m., police officers from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) were called to go to the establishment located at the corner of rue Gilberte-Dubé and boulevard Gaétan-Laberge.
According to their information, a young underage man allegedly played a bad joke on one of his classmates by texting that he had planted an explosive device in the school. Alerted, management chose to evacuate the building and close classes for the day.
” The [Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys] informs you that the Monseigneur-Richard school has been evacuated as a preventive measure. A hoax appears to be behind the police deployment,” read a message sent to the parents.
Noting the magnitude of the affair, the young man behind the hoax would have finally warned the school administration that it was a bad joke. He was still arrested for public mischief and had to meet with investigators.
Three times in a week
The police took no chances and carried out a preventive search inside and outside the building. No suspicious package was then found.
This is the third episode of its kind to occur in Greater Montreal in a week. On June 3, two high schools were closed in the wake of threats made against students and staff, in Châteauguay and La Prairie.
In either case, it was not the first time that the establishment had been the target of threats. Teams of responders were then deployed to the scene.