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Nine school in Halton received anonymous bomb threats Thursday that police say are not credible.
Officers conducted searches through all the schools and found no evidence of threats to the safety of students, staff or the public, said Halton police on social media.
They said all schools will proceed as usual and that an investigation into the threat is ongoing.
Parents and students will notice an increased police presence at each of the following schools with the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board:
Oakville Trafalgar High SchoolIroquois Ridge High SchoolAbby Park High SchoolWhite Oaks High SchoolGarth Webb Secondary SchoolAppleby CollegeHoly Trinity High SchoolLoyola High SchoolSt. Thomas Aquinas High School
Five HDSB schools received emailed threats around 3:30 a.m. Thursday and immediately notified police, said HDSB spokesperson Haley Juniper.
She said the threats were targeted at several schools in the area and not at any individual student or staff member.
“The school day is proceeding as usual and information has been shared with parents/guardians,” she said. “The safety and well-being of students and staff is our highest priority.”
Unfounded threats sent to Toronto schools Tuesday
The threats come just days after 16 Toronto schools received unfounded bomb threats. Similar threats were also made to 11 Toronto high schools in March.
Toronto police determined that none of those threats were credible.
Only two schools were temporarily evacuated Tuesday, per decisions made by their principle, and students were allowed back inside a few hours later, said Toronto police on Tuesday.
Messages started flooding in on parent group chats when Bruce Junior Public School was evacuated due to the threat on Tuesday, said parent Amanda Rootenberg.
“It all happened so quickly,” she said. “Obviously there’s nerves around it and anxiety.”
While the teachers and administrators at the school did a great job of managing the situation, she hopes the Toronto District School Board will develop an immediate alert system to let parents know faster.
Bruce Junior Public School was one of 16 Toronto schools that received unfounded bomb threats on Tuesday, said police. (Keith Burgess/CBC)
It’s concerning that the schools received these threats and could again in the future, said parent Kimolee Smith. But she noted that teachers did a great job of easing parents’ anxieties.
“Right away [my daughter’s] teacher sent emails out to the parents to let them know what was happening and where they were,” she said.
Toronto District School Board schools received multiple threats over the phone “from what is thought to be the same source,” said TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird on Tuesday.
“While Toronto Police have no evidence to suggest these are credible threats, we take them very seriously,” he said, adding parents of impacted schools received updates through the day.