Cobourg high school locked down following social media threats

St. Mary’s Secondary School in Cobourg was locked down on June 3, 2019, after the school received threats on social media. Photo courtesy of Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board.

By Olivia Waldriff

BELLEVILLE – Cobourg high school students are being offered counselling from support workers and parents after threats on social media caused St. Mary’s Secondary School to go on lockdown Monday morning.

At 8:46 a.m. the Cobourg police, along with Northumberland OPP, responded to a call from St. Mary’s Secondary School about threats made on social media, possibly involving a firearm, according to the Cobourg Police communications co-ordinator Laurie Debattista. She was unable to disclose if the person who made the threats was a student.

The lockdown lasted for about an hour while police did a full sweep of the school but they did not find the person responsible for the threats on school grounds, says Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board’s communications manager Galen Eagle.

A lockdown is where students remain in the classroom with lights off and doors locked.

Once the sweep occurred, classes resumed.

The board’s response team provided social workers for students who might be in need of mental and emotional support or someone to talk to, Eagle says. They have also told parents about the situation and asked them to check in on their children and make sure they are feeling safe, he says.

By the afternoon, police arrested the person believed to have made the threats towards the students and the school. The investigation continues. The person is charged with uttering threats. The person’s name is not being released because they are under 18-years-old.