BB gun threat at school: Thorndale mom

BY ALBERT KRAMBERGER

editor@transcontinental.ca

A parent of a Grade 4 student at Thorndale said her son was threatened by a classmate who brought a BB gun to school last week in Pierrefonds.

Maria Lovell said her 10-year-old son was told he would be shot by a fellow student, who had a BB gun in his bag, while they were standing in the hallway before classes started the morning of Feb. 25. "My son then ran to the teacher," she said. "The teacher searched (the boy who allegedly made the threat) and brought him down to the principal's office. They called his mother and he was sent home that day. But he was back the next day. He wasn't expelled."

Lovell said her son was targeted because "he defended himself and others" against the "bully."

Thorndale principal Michelle Potter wouldn't go into details regarding the incident or any disciplinary action citing confidentiality.

"The situation has been dealt with and continues to be dealt with," she told The Chronicle last Friday before the start of spring break. "We took the situation seriously."

Meanwhile, Lovell also spoke to Montreal police at Station 3 about the BB gun incident. A report was taken Monday. She said police told her no criminal charges could be laid since the matter involved a 10-year-old.

As for the issue of bullying, Potter said the school follows a strict anti-violence policy.

"It's the same or more at any other school, whether you're in the public or private system," she said of bullying. "It's a problem we are all dealing with."

Lovell, however, said she has heard of several bullying and fighting incidents in the school and doesn't think the problem is being dealt with satisfactorily.