Police investigate online threats at four public schools in city

Edmonton police are investigating threats made on social media at four public schools.

Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) confirmed Eastglen High School was placed on lockdown for 15 minutes on Monday and Centre High School was put on high alert, stopping the movement of people in and out of its downtown location.

“There have been numerous threats today. We take these threats very seriously and they were each reported to the police,” said Megan Normandeau, an EPSB spokeswoman.

Police said they first received several reports of a threatening photo circulating among students at Jasper Place High School on social media at 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening.

Edmonton Public Schools confirmed a second threat at J. Percy Page High School Monday morning before Eastglen and Center High were placed on alert.

Police investigated the threats at Jasper Place High and J. Percy Page and determined there was no threat to students, teachers or the public in either case.

“We would like to reassure students, parents and the public that we take all threats very seriously and investigate them thoroughly,” said Sgt. Em Chan, with the school resource officer unit, in a news release Monday afternoon.

“We were able to identify the sources of the threats quickly, and ensure the safety of the students, staff and general public.”

Investigators believe the threatening images found at Jasper Place and J. Percy Page were stock images obtained online and are being circulated among students as far as Winnipeg.

No one has been charged from the threatening messages in Edmonton, but police said anyone found issuing threatening communications could face criminal charges.

One person was arrested in Leduc Monday afternoon for sending a threatening Snapchat message at an elementary school.

Leduc RCMP responded to a report of uttering threats at Father Leduc Elementary School around 2 p.m. A student received a threatening message concerning the safety of the school and advised a staff member, RCMP said in a news release Monday afternoon.

The school was placed in a hold and secure and police were notified. RCMP quickly identified the person responsible for sending the threat and took them into custody. The hold and secure has since been lifted, RCMP said in an update just after 5:30 p.m., and there is currently no concern for public safety.