Reuters / Sergio Perez

Police say they take school threats seriously — so seriously they charged a 12-year-old boy who threw a tantrum in his elementary school because he didn’t want to take a vaccination needle.

Durham Regional Police said officials from Ross Tilley Public School in Bowmanville, an hour east of Toronto, called them around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The school had been administering vaccinations for hepatitis B and a boy had become upset at the prospect of a needle.

While talking to school staff he “threatened to cause damage to the school,” police said in a news release.
Officers consulted with the Crown attorney’s office and charged the boy with threatening, a criminal charge police said was justified: “due to the age of the child and concerns over public safety.”

The boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, made a verbal threat against the school, police spokesman Dave Selby told CTV.

Mr. Selby told the broadcaster that officers do have the discretion not to lay a charge but decided the alleged threat was serious enough to be considered criminal. “Police take all threats to teachers, administration and school students seriously and advise that anyone over the age of 12 could face criminal charges,” police said in a statement.

The boy faced a bail hearing Wednesday after police went over the situation with the youth’s family.

tmcmahon@nationalpost.com

Source: Nationalpost.com, November 25, 2010
By: Tamsin McMahon