Two Mississauga teens arrested for allegedly burning Pride flag

A screenshot from the video circulating social media.

TORONTO — Two teenage boys from Mississauga have been arrested after a video of a burning Pride flag surfaced on social media, Peel police say.

On June 8, police received a report of a video showing a rainbow Pride flag burning on the ground while people were laughing in the background.

It is alleged that the involved individuals are students at Cawthra Park Secondary School (CPSS) in Mississauga.

Police said the flag burning is considered a hate-motivated incident.

On June 17, police arrested two 16-year-old male youths from Mississauga in connection with the incident.

The identities of the youths will not be released as they are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Both of the teens have been referred to the Youth Pre-Charge Diversion Program.

After the video surfaced online, the Peel District School Board (PDSB) also launched an investigation.

In a letter to CPSS families, principal Tyler Mcleod said that the involved students sent the video to fellow 2SLGBTQIA+ students.

“I am truly sorry for the harm caused by this incident,” Mcleod wrote.

“As a learning community, we are committed to increasing our individual and collective skills and understanding to clearly confront racist acts and to ensure our school environment is safe and aligns with PDSB’s values of educating our learners through an anti-racist, anti-oppressive lens,” he added.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at [phone], ext. 1233 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

-With files from CTV News Toronto’s Abby Neufeld.