Online threat against St. Catharines school determined as 'humour gone terribly wrong': police

Niagara Regional Police Service. (Source: Twitter)

A 15-year-old St. Catharines girl learned Tuesday that making threats towards a school on Snapchat, even as a joke, could get her in trouble with police.

On Tuesday, Niagara Regional Police said they were contacted by INTERPOL Washington, which was initially alerted by Snapchat about a user who made a threatening post while in the possession of an apparent weapon.

As a result, officers attended Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School and arrested a 15-year-old student for uttering a threat.

“Officers determined there was no further safety concerns stemming from the incident. Regular school activities were not interrupted due to the incident,” police said.

“The threat was determined to not be credible and an attempt at humour gone terribly wrong.”

Police said the teenager was later released without charge “within the extrajudicial measures guidelines of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.”

Investigators are reminding the public that there are serious consequences when making online threats, even when intended as a joke.

“Threats, whether made in person or online, are treated as real until proven otherwise, as public safety is the highest priority,” police said.

The investigation remains ongoing, and police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 905-688-4111 option 3, ext.1009222.