Police charge 17-year-old after social media threat to schools

A 17-year-old man is facing charges after posting to social media about threatening to kill students and staff at Regina’s Martin Collegiate.

Police were informed about the threat around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, after learning of a message circulating on the mobile app Snapchat.

As the message continued to circulate, potential threats were added to nearby schools — Archbishop M.C. O’Neill High School and Thom Collegiate.

After investigating throughout the night, police were able to track down a 17-year-old suspect, who they believe is the originator of the message.

The teenager, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was taken into custody around 12:30 a.m. Friday.

He’s facing four charges: two counts of uttering threats, along with breach of undertaking and failing to comply with a court-ordered condition.

The youth made his first court appearance on Friday afternoon.

No threat to public safety

Regina police superintendent Darcy Koch confirmed the suspect was a student at one of the three schools, but wouldn’t comment on any potential motive.

“We are very confident that we have the person responsible for the initial post who was involved in custody,” Koch said. “Charges have been laid and we feel very confident the public is safe.”

He wouldn’t comment on whether the person actually had the means to carry out the threat, just that it was not credible.

Koch added police will follow up on any potential leads in the case, but said they are very confident they have the person responsible for “orchestrating that post” in custody.

All schools were open on Friday and ran regular classes as there was no threat to staff and students.

Additional police officers were posted at all three schools to help ensure students felt secure and that there are no additional disturbances.

Yesterday, @reginapolice were informed of a possible threat to @martinmonarchs via social media. Police Investigation revealed the threat not credible & the youth responsible is now in custody.

There is no risk to students or staff & Martin Collegiate is open today.

— Regina Public Schools (@RegPublicSchool) November 30, 2018

UPDATE: additional messages mentioned 2 other schools: Thom and O'Neill. Through investigation, we can say these messages are not credible threats. We have additional officers at all three schools this morning as a reassurance and to ensure there are no additional disturbances.

— Regina Police (@reginapolice) November 30, 2018