Schools in Kemptville, Iroquois closed after threats of ‘violent incidents’ made for Oct. 3
Parents in Kemptville and Iroquois woke up to some disturbing news in their inbox this morning.
“Overnight, we were informed by police that they had information regarding a threat to St. Michael Catholic High School,” reads an email to parents and guardians from Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) Superintendent Bill Loshaw.
He explained that specifically, police received a threat stating that St. Michael’s would be “the target of a violent incident on Thursday, October 3.”
“Out of an abundance of caution,” all area schools are closed to all students and staff today (Oct. 3), including North Grenville District High School, Kemptville Public School and South Branch Elementary School. All transportation and any planned school activities are also cancelled. The OPP’s media relations officer Bill Dickson confirmed that this applies to all public and Catholic schools in Kemptville.
The UCDSB said in a separate email to parents and guardians that a similar threat was made against Seaway District High School in Iroquois. As a result, that school, and Iroquois Public School, are also closed, and all transportation and school activities have been cancelled.
“The telephone calls came in to police overnight from two individuals, each threatening violence at schools,” Dickson said, indicating the two high schools mentioned above.
 “The OPP takes all public safety threats seriously,” Dickson said.
 He noted that “it’s not known if the threats are legitimate,” and said investigative efforts to identify the callers is ongoing.
“The OPP understands the concerns and stress this causes for students, parents, teachers and others in the community,” Dickson said. “We will continue to investigate these threats in an effort to hold the responsible individuals accountable.”
If you have any information that could assist, call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. If you want to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report online at ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
Brockvilleist will continue to follow this story and provide more information as it is made available.