Threats against local high schools last week cause concern for WRPS

Two local high schools were closed last week after Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) received word of serious threats being made against both.

St. Mary’s High School on Block Line Rd. and Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute on Charles St. E. were closed as a safety precaution for students at the time.

Waterloo Regional Police Chief Mark Crowell was on The Mike Farwell Show Tuesday to talk about how youth crime is evolving.

“I honestly can’t recall schools being shut for the full duration of a day or two days. So, think back to our lives as young people there’s always been fire alarms pulled and hoaxes and we get the occasional bomb threat that sort of thing,” said Crowell.

“I can tell you this was a direct, very focused threat to violence to schools which raised alarm bells and raised the level of concern.”

Crowell said the decision to close the schools also came from seeing how school violence has played out across North America in the past couple of decades.

“We’re into an era where cybercrime just sort of broadly is allowing people to not only commit theft, to defraud but also to cause major disruption to communities.”

The WRPS is working with the schools to investigate the threats still.

“It disrupts the sense of safety within the school community but also the broader community. Also, for families, we know parents are scrambling,” said Crowell.

Crowell added they are currently working on a youth engagement strategy in coordination with community leaders and partners to help with the rise in youth crime.