Quebec Police Arrest Teen After School Threats Posted On Same Website As Dawson College Killer
Posted September 18, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
That sense of foreboding may explain why Quebec provincial police moved in on a 15-year-old boy Monday, after he allegedly posted threats against students at his high school.
The youngster expressed admiration for Kimveer Gill (top left), the 25-year-old gunman who went on a ruthless shooting spree that killed one student and wounded 19 others before he turned the gun on himself last Wednesday.
The boy was allegedly using the same website that contained the killer’s ramblings to warn of his own plans to take revenge on students at his campus, Westwood High School in Hudson, Quebec.
“Police officers didn’t want to take any chances on this, mentioning that the person would possibly take up arms to do what Mr. Gill had done at Dawson College,” police spokesman Jayson Gauthier affirms. “Therefore, we proceeded with an arrest.”
There’s no word on whether the teen had access to weapons or even if he had a specific plan in place to carry out his threats. The suspect’s description is eerily familiar: a loner who had few friends and wasn’t happy at school.
He made a brief court appearance on Monday morning and the Crown opposed his release on bail. Authorities still have to figure out if the boy was serious or just venting. If they can’t prove anything past his words, they may not have any choice but to set him free.
If that happens, officials are hoping the boy will receive immediate counselling to help him deal with his anger and violent fantasies.
Meanwhile, police have gone to his school to assure teachers and students that they have nothing to fear. But if he’s released, they may feel differently.
