ATIKOKAN — A 15-year-old student has been arrested following reports of a weapons incident at Northern Lakes K-12 school in Atikokan.
Police say they received reports from the public of an ongoing shelter-in-place incident at the school at approximately 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
The youth was taken into custody and has been charged with one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and one count of uttering threats, according to the Ontario Provincial Police.
The youth is scheduled to appear in bail court Thursday.
Two students alerted school administration to a potential threat, according to a media release issued by The Rainy River District School Board.
According to the school board, school administration immediately began an internal investigation and a privacy-in-place strategy was implemented, clearing the halls while a search was conducted.
The student was then removed from the school.
The school board issued that release Thursday afternoon, correcting an earlier release which had incorrectly stated that a concerned parent had initially reported the threat to the school and that the school had been placed under shelter-in-place.
The name of the youth will not be released in accordance with the youth criminal justice act.
OPP officers from the Atikokan detachment and the Rainy River crime unit are investigating and ask that anyone with information about the incident contact them at directly 1-888-310-1122 or through Crime Stoppers.
