Teen admits to splashing Saskatoon schoolmate with lighter fluid, setting her on fire

Evan Hardy Collegiate, a high school where an assault and fire had taken place in Saskatoon, is shown on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards (Liam Richards)

A 16-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for splashing a former friend with lighter fluid and setting her on fire in the hallway of a Saskatoon high school.

The attacker also pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing bodily harm of a teacher who came to the victim’s aid at Evan Hardy Collegiate in September 2024.

She sat in court Monday dressed in a hoodie, as court heard the crime was the culmination of a friendship that spiralled into estrangement, harassment and finally violence.

Neither the attacker nor the victim can be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Justice Krista Zerr asked the accused in court, “Do you understand that by pleading guilty, you are giving up your right to a trial? And so the next step in the process is for me to sentence you. Do you understand that?”

The girl replied, “Yes.”

She 14 years old at the time of the attack and the victim was 15. It began over the lunch hour with lighter fluid squirted from a water bottle.

One witness said flames spread within seconds from the victim’s hair and face to her shoulders, back and stomach as she screamed, “Help!”

She frantically patted her hair, but that only caused the flames to spread to her hands.

Teachers arrived, telling the girl to drop to the ground and roll. A teacher took off his jacket and used it to swat at the flames on the victim, while other staff grabbed items of clothing and joined in trying to put out the fire.

Police said the girl was hospitalized in serious condition with burns and the teacher who tried to help was also injured.

A Crown prosecutor read out an agreed statement of facts in court, saying the girls had a friendship, but it was ended by the victim after the attacker lit the roof of the school library on fire.

Court also heard the attacker had harassed the victim, and the victim’s parents contacted police. The school became aware and arranged for the attacker and her school bags to be searched.

There were other red flags.

The attacker had attempted suicide in the months before. Court was told she was harming herself. When at school, she was under constant supervision by an aide.

The day of the fire attack, two aides were with the girl as she paced outside the victim’s classroom. Court heard the aides felt something was amiss.

The bell rang. Students filed out. The aides stood between the attacker and the former friend.

But the attacker pushed past them, sprayed the fluid at the victim and lit the blaze.

After, the attacker was escorted to an autism room, where she was seen rocking back and forth, wearing a blanket over her bra and pants with burn injuries, saying, “The voices told me to do it.”

Sentencing is set for Feb. 26, and the judge has ordered a psychological assessment.

The Crown had previously planned to ask that the attacker be sentenced as an adult, which would carry a more severe penalty. Court heard Monday it is no longer doing so.

The prosecutor declined comment.

The victim was not in court for the pleas, but some of her family members attended. During a brief adjournment, they hugged.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2025.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press

This is a corrected story. A previous version said the attacker pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm of a teacher.