RCMP arrest Manitoba boy threatening to start school shooting

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This article was published 24/02/2016 (3705 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RCMP have arrested a 12-year-old boy after he allegedly threatened to start a school shooting during a multiplayer online game.

The player did not mention the name of the school, but other players in the game immediately reported the incident to the local authorities at the Onalaska Wisconsin Police Department and the Oswego New York Police Department, who informed RCMP on Friday morning at around 11 a.m. of a potential imminent threat.

Once reported, law enforcement agencies worked with the video game manufacturer and the RCMP’s integrated technological crime unit to locate the address of the player. They later learned that the player’s account belonged to a youth from a small community in southeastern Manitoba. RCMP immediately attended the scene, but were not immediately able to locate him.

Later that day; however, police found the boy at his home and arrested him for uttering threats. All nearby schools in the vicinity of the suspect’s home were notified and patrolled by the officers.

"The public expects us to assume the threats are real and our officers responded accordingly until we were in a position to confirm otherwise." said Sgt. Bert Paquet of the Manitoba RCMP, in a statement. "The quick thinking and prompt actions of officers from several different sections in two different countries were key to successfully locating and apprehending the youth associated to the threats."

"From Onalaska, Wisconsin and Oswego, New York to a small community in Manitoba, the threats were immediately taken seriously, and investigated with promptness and efficiency." Paquet said.

Further investigation revealed that the boy did not have access to firearms, but the boy was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in court in March.

» Brandon Sun