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A 17-year-old boy has been charged in connection with a bomb threat at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School - one in a string of 10 threats at Hamilton schools last week.
The boy, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is the third teen to be charged in connection with three separate threats.
Last Thursday, police were notified about a threat that a bomb would be detonated at the Upper Paradise Road school on Friday, June 3, at 10:30 a.m., police said.
Many of the threats last week were written on bathroom walls and specifically included the date June 3. All of the threats, save for St. Thomas More, were about shootings. There were no reports of any violence related to the threats on Friday.
On Monday, the 17-year-old was arrested and charged with uttering threats and mischief under $5,000 in connection with the bomb threat.
Hamilton police say they take these threats extremely seriously" and continue to investigate.
Last week, a 19-year-old was charged with two counts of utter threat to cause death or bodily harm in connection with threats at Westdale Secondary School, which the school board opted to close Friday.
In that case, the teen, who is not a Westdale student, is accused of uttering threats that police believe are tied to a written threat found in a school bathroom. Police have not yet released his name because he was released on an undertaking and the charges have not yet been sworn in court. He is scheduled to appear in court July 11.
No other schools were shuttered because of the threats.
Police also arrested a 14-year-old girl last Thursday in connection with a threat found on a wall at St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Secondary School.
It's not clear what caused the unprecedented surge in threats, or whether any people involved knew each other. However, experts suggest there can be a contagion effect" linked to mass shootings.
The threats happened in the wake of the killing of 19 students and two teachers in a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on May 24.
Police said each Hamilton threat was being investigated as a separate incident.
The investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call 905-546-4925.
To remain anonymous call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppershamilton.com.
Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com