- 100 MILE HOUSE, B.C. (CP) - A troubled 15-year-old boy has been charged
with threatening to shoot his classmates and police have seized 24 guns
and six knives from his house.
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- RCMP Cpl. Rick Bigland said police were
alerted late Wednesday after the boy was suspended and threatened to return
to school to start shooting.
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- Police also seized a list of 11 students'
names from the boy's bedroom. The students had apparently "bugged"
the boy in the past, Bigland said.
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- "The youth, who has a history of
aggressive behavior and suspensions within the school, had allegedly told
students that he would return to school and shoot a specific staff member
and a number of students," said Bigland.
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- The threat came just over a week after
a 14-year-old boy walked into his school in Taber, Alta., and shot two
students, killing one and seriously wounding another.
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- The boy in the Taber incident showed
no emotion when he made a brief court appearance Thursday.
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- Two weeks ago, two teenagers shot and
killed 12 students and one teacher in Littleton, Colo., before killing
themselves.
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- Those accused of both shootings have
been described as teens who were picked on by their peers.
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- Police in 100 Mile House, about 600 kilometres
northeast of Vancouver, seized 18 long-barrelled firearms and six handguns
from the house.
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- The weapons were lawfully owned by the
boy's father and were properly stored. But Bigland said the youth could
have had access to them.
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- The knives were found in the boy's bedroom,
along with the list of students's names.
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- The family lives in 70 Mile House, a
village of about 100 people just south of 100 Mile House.
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- The teen is scheduled to appear in court
today. Police are recommending he undergo a psychiatric assessment.
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- Police called an assembly at the school
Thursday to talk to students and teachers, many of whom already knew of
the arrest.
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- "Nothing ever surprises me,"
said teacher Lorne Landry.
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- "This is just a wave of stuff that
is based on stuff happening elsewhere."
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- Another meeting with parents, school
officials and RCMP investigators was scheduled for Thursday evening.
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- Police said the boy was suspended from
100 Mile Junior Secondary School school earlier this week after an altercation
with another student.
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- There are about 450 students and 30 teachers
at the school, which educates Grade 8 and 9 students from the region around
100 Mile House.
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- Brian Butcher, the district school superintendent,
said authorities were alerted after a student told her mother about the
boy's threats. The mother called the school principal, who then called
police.
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- Butcher said the Grade 9 boy is an outsider
whose discipline problems were known to district authorities.
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- "But if you were to meet this kid
in a hallway and you were to look at him, you'd say this is one of the
nicest kids you'd ever seen," Butcher said.
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- "I know the parents must be terribly
devastated by this."
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- Butcher said the extensive television
coverage given to the Taber and Littleton incidents has made such events
very real for students.
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- "It's very immediate and it's very
public."
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- Butcher said school officials have worked
hard at raising awareness of teen violence issues.
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- "We have reacted to this situation.
The RCMP have it in hand and the kids are being looked after."
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- Donna Barnett, mayor of the Interior
town of about 2,000, said the incident is an isolated one.
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- "It is very disturbing," she
said.
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- The region has plenty of programs for
troubled youth, including a so-called bully beware program in the schools,
said Barnett.
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- "I know there is a lot of help here
for youth if they need it."
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