Teen threatened attack on school on anniversary of Montreal Massacre: police

Warning: contains graphic language some may find disturbing.

Toronto police say they’ve seized a frightening arsenal of weapons from the home of a teen who was allegedly threatening an attack at Oakwood Collegiate Institute on the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

Police say they became aware of a threat towards the school at 991 St. Clair Ave. W. last Thursday.

A 17-year-old male suspect was identified and a search warrant was executed at his home early Tuesday. Police say they seized a machete, a hatchet, two swords, four knives and arrows.

“Some sort of attack was to take place on Tuesday, December 6, 2016, the 27th anniversary of the massacre at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal,” police said in a release.

The teen, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared in court on Tuesday. He’s been charged with uttering threats of bodily harm and uttering threats of death.

He was released on bail under strict conditions and is being monitored by police.

A source tells CityNews the teen was taken to hospital upon release. It’s not clear if he’s still in hospital or staying with family.

Police tell CityNews they became aware of the threat through an American internet service provider. According to police, a blog post was updated from a Toronto District School Board server. Someone on the U.S. west coast noticed the threat and called authorities.

A source close to the case tells CityNews the FBI was alerted and that led to the teen’s arrest.

In the post, the author says he wants to show people at his school “what terror really looks like.”

“I can’t remember how many times I’ve wanted to kill people. Since I won’t be going anywhere with my life, why not go out with a bang?” the post reads

“Terror is a white male, walking into a school with a machete and a hatchet, running through the place and hacking people into mince meat and busting down doors because you KNOW they’re hiding in their classrooms like sheep ready for slaughter. Then the school resource officers will gun me down and that’ll be the end of it.

“I’ll be like Marc Lépine, who only lived for 5 or 6 minutes.”

Det. Len Nicholson said because of the Montreal Massacre reference, police were concerned an attack could happen on the anniversary.

“I do believe this was a serious threat,” Nicholson said on Wednesday night. “In the thread he makes reference to the massacre in Montreal, that made our urgency even greater. We were concerned that he would act on that date.”

Despite the chilling reference to the Montreal Massacre, Nicholson said the threats did not target a specific gender and a motive is still unclear.

He added that the suspect was not cooperative and it’s believed he acted alone, although the investigation is ongoing.

“He got a lawyer and he wouldn’t speak to us,” he said.

Toronto District School Board (TDSB) spokesperson Ryan Bird said Toronto police informed the school of the threat on Monday after school hours.

“Early Tuesday morning, well before school had started, we were then informed by police that a person had indeed been apprehended. With that in mind no additional precautions were required at the school,” he said.

Bird couldn’t say if the suspect was a student at Oakwood, but confirmed that he’s a TDSB student.

“A letter has gone home gone home with students to parents this afternoon to inform them, as well an announcement was made at school this afternoon so students were kept up to date on the situation,” he said.

Cyber-intelligence expert Daniel Tobok said it’s “concerning” that no one is responsible for cybersecurity at the TDSB, but acknowledged Canada doesn’t have the laws in place to deal with such activities.

“The message here — and it has to be loud and clear — is there needs to be a very focused investment in cybersecurity, the digital world, where somebody is actually analyzing this type of communication that can harm citizens, harm associations,” he said.

“There’s got to be more of a focus on it. We’re a little bit too relaxed about what can happen online.”

Full text of blog post:

You know, I can’t remember how many times I’ve wanted to kill people. Since I won’t be going anywhere with my life, why not go out with a bang? I got a machete and a hatchet in the basement, a coat I can hide them in, and sunglasses. I’ll show the people at my school what “terror” really looks like. They think “terror” is some middle-eastern radical with C4 strapped across his body and a detonator in his hand. No. That isn’t terror. No. Terror is a white male, walking into a school with a machete and a hatchet, running through the place and hacking people into mince meat and busting down doors because you KNOW they’re hiding in their classrooms like sheep ready for slaughter. Then the school resource officers will gun me down and that’ll be the end of it. I’ll be like Marc Lépine, who only lived for 5 or 6 minutes.