Hold and secure lifted at Toronto high school following threat against students

An undated outside shot of Scarborough's Birchmount Collegiate Institute. (Joanna Lavoie photo)

Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute in Scarborough was placed under hold and secure Thursday afternoon after a threat was reportedly received against students.

"We take any threat against the school students, or staff very seriously, and inlight of the incident that took place Monday, we wanted to take every precaution to ensure the safety of students and staff," Karen Hume, the school's principal, wrote in a letter to parents and guardians.

She said the order, which was done "out of an abundance of caution," came into effect at around 1:20 p.m. and involved locking exterior doors and keeping students and staff indoors. It was lifted roughly three hours later after Toronto police gave the all-clear. Students were dismissed at approximtely 4:15 p.m.

Toronto police have been at the Scarborough high school since Monday after a 17-year-old student was stabbed inside the building. Officers were present during Thursday's hold and secure, Hume noted.

"I want to thank police for their ongoing assistance, as well as staff for their support with today;s hold and secure. I would also like to commend students for thier cooperation and understanding today," she wrote. "This has been a challenging week for the Birchmount Park CI community, but please know that we are taking every precaution possible to keep students and staff safe."

Toronto police told CP24 they did not post about the situation on social media as there was no current threat to public safety.

The hold and secure at Birchmount Collegate comes just weeks after an 18-year-old man was fatally shot outside Woburn Collegiate, near Markham and Ellesmere roads.

Toronto Mayor John Tory has since requested a meeting with the school board and Toronto police to look at ways to address school violence in the city.