Police clear bomb threats at two Hamilton high schools

Hamilton police have cleared a second bomb threat at a Hamilton high school Tuesday morning, after an email was sent to a staff member at Westmount Secondary School.

The threat at Westmount was sent just before 8 a.m., around the same time a similar threat was emailed to a staff member at Glendale Secondary School, said Const. Indy Bharaj.

In the case of Glendale, police were immediately called to the school at 145 Rainbow Dr. The building was evacuated and searched. By about 9:30 a.m. police had cleared the school and classes were able to resume.

However, at Westmount, the email went to the staff member's junk mailbox and wasn't discovered until later Tuesday morning. Police were called to the school around 9:20 a.m., Bharaj said.

Police evacuated and searched the school at 39 Montcalm Dr. It was cleared by about 10:30 a.m., with students and staff allowed back into the building.

The threat at Glendale was the second bomb threat at the east Hamilton school in less than a month, with both threats reported just before the start of the school day.

On Feb. 27, police were called to Glendale shortly after 8 a.m. By about 9 a.m. police had cleared the building. Bharaj said that February threat at Glendale was also via email.

Police have not laid any charges and the investigations are ongoing.

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com