The investigation into the threat of gun violence at Garrison Road Pubic School in Fort Eire remains active and ongoing, says a news release from the Niagara Regional Police Service.
On Jan. 24, 2023, at 2:56 p.m. an unidentified male suspect called the Fort Erie school and threatened gun violence was going to occur at the school. The school immediately initiated safety protocols and contacted the police.
The first uniform officer from Fort Erie arrived at the school within three minutes. The situation that took place on Tuesday afternoon in Fort Erie "is scary and unnerving to the students, staff, parents/guardians and our community," the police news release said. They devoted significant resources, including additional uniform officers from Port Colborne and Niagara Falls, the traffic enforcement unit, marine unit, CORE unit, K9 unit, Fort Erie detectives, the mobile crisis response unit officers, Niagara Parks Police and the Ontario Provincial Police.
Parts of the initial investigation led officers to have a concern about Stevensville Public School. As such, officers requested they go into safety procedures. Police were able to attend and assisted with an orderly dismissal. With a quickly unfolding situation, officers also requested Peace Bridge Public School go into safety protocols due to proximity to Garrison Road School. The situation at Peace Bridge School was also cleared quickly. Once the situation at Garrison Road School was deemed safe, officers assisted staff with the dismissal of the students.
To support the Fort Erie school communities, Fort Erie uniform officers were stationed near the affected schools Wednesday morning, with the hope that their presence would provide some reassurance and support.
The investigation remains ongoing by Fort Erie detectives. There have been no arrests and the identity of the suspect remains unknown. Garrison Road School staff and senior management from the District School Board of Niagara are assisting detectives.
Detectives are also actively investigating a bomb threat to John Brant Public School that occurred on Thursday, Jan. 26 in Fort Erie. Detectives recognize there are similarities between these incidents and are investigating to determine what links there may be.
Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives by calling (905) 688-4111, option 3, extension 1022300.
Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-8477. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information which leads to an arrest.
Click here for Crime Stoppers online.
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