Youth arrested for school threats - cops
Fredericton police say bomb threats at seven schools in province tracked to one teenager
Police arrested a youth suspect in its investigation into bomb threats made Tuesday toward seven New Brunswick schools, most of which were in the capital region.
Anglophone School District West closed six of its schools Tuesday morning after receiving threats directed at those facilities. The affected schools were Fredericton High, Leo Hayes High, Nashwaaksis Middle, George Street Middle and Barkers Point Elementary schools in Fredericton, and Assiniboine Avenue Elementary School in Oromocto.
Also closed due to similar threats Tuesday morning was a school in another district: Arnold H. MacLeod School in Moncton.
Police in the various jurisdictions evacuated the facilities and investigated, and on Tuesday afternoon, the Fredericton Police Force announced an arrest and revealed the nature of the threats made.
“Fredericton police arrested a youth Tuesday after several bomb threats were made toward local schools early in the morning,” the force said in a news release.
“Investigators later identified the source of the threats and arrested a youth, who cannot be named as per the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Further investigation determined that threats made to schools outside Fredericton’s jurisdiction were also traced back to the same individual.”
Sonya Gilks, a spokesperson for the city police force, said she didn’t know if the youth would be held in custody pending a court appearance or if they would be released on conditions and a promise to appear in court at a later date.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.