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AVONMORE, ON -- A high school student who delivered a monologue in his drama class about a fictional harassed pupil blowing up a school has been charged with uttering death threats against students and staff.
The 16-year-old youth was arrested on Friday after police spent two weeks investigating events at Tagwi Secondary, a high school of 500 students in Avonmore, about 20 kilometres northwest of Cornwall.
The teenager, who cannot be identified under the provisions of the Young Offenders Act, appeared briefly in court on Monday only to have his case put over because his parents are out of the country on vacation. He will stay in custody at a youth detention centre until a bail hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Cornwall.
The episode began in late November shortly after the youth had delivered his speech about a "fictional" student involved in a revenge school bombing.
Some students suggested the youth might have been playing himself in the monologue.
As rumours began to spread, school officials questioned the youth but he vehemently denied he was talking about himself. However, it failed to stop the rumours and it is alleged the youth issued death threats to other students.
"He denied the story was about himself but some students believed it to be true", said Mary Mayer, principal at Tagwi. "At that point, things really got out of hand.
"This is a small community and a small school and the rumours spread quickly and things became exaggerated.
"But because of the times we're living in, we take everything of this nature seriously and police were called in to investigate."
The Ontario Provincial Police, backed by a canine unit, conducted a thorough sweep of the school last Wednesday although they found nothing. Students at the school said police were checking for a bomb.
Const. Paul Murphy, of the Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry OPP detachment, said the charges were laid after an investigation revealed there was more to be concerned about in the monologue than a simple dramatic interpretation.
On Monday, Ms. Mayer sent home a letter to parents outlining increased security measures.
School security cameras now record 24 hours a day as opposed to only on a random basis. School staff have also been asked to increase supervision during regular school hours. Only selected doors will be left unlocked and outside gates are locked early in the evening.