FERGUS – Centre Wellington District High School and JD Hogarth Public School were placed under a “hold and secure” protocol for part of the day on Monday.
A hold and secure is a partial lockdown used to protect students when threatening incidents occur outside of the school.
Activities within the school continue as usual during a hold and secure, “but the school doors are locked and no one is permitted in or out of the building,” said Upper Grand District School Board spokesperson Heather Loney.
The high school went into a hold and secure at about 12pm on April 29, and “out of an abundance of caution” JD Hogarth followed suit at about 12:30pm, Loney told the Advertiser in an email.
Both schools lifted the hold and secure at about 1:30pm, Loney said.
OPP spokesperson Joshua Cunningham told the Advertiser “an incident was reported to have occurred at the high school and officers are currently investigating a threat.”
Neither Cunningham nor Loney would initially provide any further details.
Almost six hours after the incident, the OPP issued a press release stating officers responded to reports that a student threatened another student during a “dispute” on Scotland Street in Fergus.
“An 18-year-old was arrested,” the release states, and the OPP is currently investigating.
Asked about the nature of the threat and if it involved a weapon, Cunningham simply replied, “the investigation is still ongoing.”
Police ask anyone with information to contact the Wellington County OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or csgw.tips.
-With files from Chris Daponte
