C.W. Jefferys Evacuated After Strange Fumes Detected, Two Students Arrested
Posted November 8, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It has not been a good year for C.W. Jefferys C.I.
The high school where Jordan Manners was fatally shot in the spring made headlines once again Thursday for an incident that turned out to be fairly benign but initially raised alarm bells all the same.
At some point around 9am school officials called police to report fumes that were apparently making students cough. “We got a call that the school was being evacuated,” explains Toronto Police Sgt. Gino Pulla. “When we arrived here, we entered the school with the fire department and we determined that someone had released either mace or pepper stray into the school. As a result of that, the entire school was evacuated.”
The building was aired out and classes resumed about an hour later. Two students were later arrested and charged, but the details of their charges haven’t yet been released.
It was in May of 2007 that 15-year-old Manners was gunned down inside the school’s hallways, a murder that shocked not only students, faculty, and the surrounding community but the whole of Toronto.
An investigation was launched into the actions of school officials, not just in regards to the shooting but also the alleged assault of a female Muslim student on school grounds, and the principal and two vice principals were suspended. In the latter case it was suggested police weren’t notified of the apparent attack.
A new principal, Jim Spyropoulos, has since been brought on board at the school and he’s made it his mission to turn things around there.
He grew up in Regent Park and was considered the perfect candidate to take on the issues the school faces.
Many students say he’s already accomplished a lot.
“He’s like God. He changed everything,” beams Eden Boundy.
“Everything is changing around here now,” adds KC. “It’s a better environment for the students and it’s safer, too.”
