Mischief charges laid after false school shooting complaint

Charges of public mischief have been laid in connection with false reports of a potential shooting at a school east of Calgary.

Late Friday morning, officials at Chestermere Lake Middle School notified police of allegations made against a student accused of planning a school shooting.

Immediately attending the school, police discovered the allegations centred around remarks overheard at another school — claiming they heard a student speaking openly about carrying out a shooting at Chestermere Lake school.

The student who claimed to overhear the threat reported it to their school’s administration, who immediately informed Chestermere Lake school officials.

Subsequent investigation revealed the Chestermere Lake student implicated in the report neither possessed nor had access to firearms, and police later determined the student who reported the threat had made the whole thing up.

That student, who cannot be identified due to their age, now faces a charge of public mischief for their fictitious report and accusations against the student.

Friday’s allegations came just two days after a gunman opened fire inside a south Florida high school on Wednesday, killing 17 people.

Police take such false accusations seriously, said Staff Sgt. Mark Wielgosz of Chestermere RCMP, due to the potential for largescale panic and the extraordinary amount of resources officers commit to investigating these allegations.