Online chat leads to closure of the school
A Montreal teenager was arrested yesterday in connection with threats made against a Montreal CEGEP.
The 16-year-old teen was arrested by police late in the afternoon at his residence in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. The Vieux Montreal CEGEP was shut down after U.S. authorities alerted local police to an online threat about a possible gunman.
The teen appears to have no ties to the school, Const. Lynne Labelle said.
“We will have to do a search at his house if there is any firearm or evidence of the threats that have been made,” Labelle said.
Montreal police say an Internet surfer based in Ohio flagged the threats for local authorities on Monday night after allegedly chatting with a suspect. Other American and Canadian web surfers also contacted police after chatting with the same suspect who seemed to have an intimate knowledge of the school.
Montreal police closed down the college and a police tactical squad surrounded the building early Tuesday morning. The building was left locked and deserted after officers found nothing during a search.
The threats were allegedly made against students and staff at the school, but Police would not specify exactly what the threats were.
Kimveer Gill, the gunman who killed one person and wounded 20 others at a Dawson College Sept. 13, 2006, announced his intentions on the Internet before his attack.