Two people arrested and firearm seized during investigation into threats against Guelph high school

Two people have been charged and a firearm has been seized after threats were made against staff and students at a Guelph high school.

Two people have been charged as part of a police investigation into threats made against a Guelph high school.

The Upper Grand District School Board closed John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute on Thursday as the Guelph Police Service looked into the reported threats against staff and students.

“There were named individuals, staff and students, who we allege were the targets of the threats. So, it was not a general threat against the school,” media relations coordinator with the Guelph Police Service Scott Tracey told CTV News in an interview on Thursday afternoon.

The investigation led officers to an address outside of the city. With the help of the Ontario Provincial Police, the Guelph Police Service completed two searches on Thursday morning. A firearm was found and seized during one of those searches.

Police said a 64-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were jointly charged with five counts of uttering threats. The man was also charged with knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm.

A 31-year-old man from Wellington County was also arrested during the investigation for unauthorized possession of a firearm. Police do not believe he was involved in the threats.

The threats in Guelph come as a community in British Columbia is mourning a deadly school shooting in the community of Tumbler Ridge.

“These types of calls are distressing for the community, certainly for the school community and for our service. They do cause widespread concern in the community and obviously take a significant number of resources to investigate. It’s extra concerning when we do have a tragedy such as we saw earlier this week in British Columbia – that’s what everyone’s mind turns to when they hear something like this," Tracey said.

Guelph’s Police Chief Gord Cobey thanked the OPP and the school board for their quick response to the local threat.

“We recognize how incidents of this nature can be difficult for students, staff, and families,” Chief Cobey, said. “We continue to work closely with our community partners to ensure we are constantly improving the support we provide and ensuring the safety of our students, schools, and community.”

Guelph Police Service officers will be at the school on Friday to offer support.

“The school board has made resources available, and will continue to do so, and we will have officers as well at the school on Friday to be available for students who want to speak about what happened and any concerns they might have. So, certainly, there is a robust response both from the school board and from our service in terms of providing those supports,” Tracey said.