Police arrest student connected with Canadian school bomb

A 14-year-old student from Canada was arrested Tuesday, a day after an explosive devise was found in his school.

Photo: Police arrest student connected with Canadian school bomb

City police Cpl. Bobbi Simmons said a male student at Leo Hayes High School in Fredericton, New Brunswick, was taken into custody Tuesday and later released. His identity was not released because he is a minor.

A student notified school staff about the device around noon on Monday and police were called.

"He was arrested for possession of an explosive substance without lawful excuse," Simmons said. "The young person was released into his parents custody and will appear in court in July."

Simmons would not disclose the nature of the device because of the ongoing investigation. It was removed from the school and detonated at a secure location.

In a separate case, six teenagers in Ontario are facing various charges for allegedly writing bomb threats at a local elementary school Monday. The graffiti threats were found on a few doors and on a picnic table at St. Joseph Catholic School in Chatham, Ontario.

The school was quickly evacuated, but nothing suspicious was found.

The teens are all 15 and 16 years old and are facing charges of conveying a false message of a threat, possession of an incendiary material and mischief over $5,000 Canadian (US$4,500; 3,324 EUR).

Such incidents are relatively rare in Canada, which prides itself on being safer than its southern neighbor, the United States.

Threats of violence in U.S. schools have become increasingly common, particularly in the wake of a mass shooting on the campus of Virginia Tech University by a student who killed 32 people before fatally shooting himself.