THUNDER BAY - Nearly two-and-a-half years since numerous unsubstantiated threats were made against Hammarskjold High School resulting in closures and leaving students and staff in a constant state of fear, those responsible have been sentenced, providing the school community with a sense of closure.
“I think we are all very pleased that there is closure to it and that the individuals involved have moved on to more positive things in their lives,” said Ian MacRae, director of education with the Lakehead District School Board.
Two individuals were charged in April 2019 for making the threats against the school throughout the academic year. A youth, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to public mischief and was sentenced in July to 12 months probation, while Emile Jade Pakrashi, 20, also pleaded guilty to a charge of public mischief and received a three-month conditional sentence and 18 months probation on Thursday.
The threats were made anonymously through Crime Stoppers and involved purported shootings, explosives, and violence toward students and staff. As a result, Hammarskjold was closed 12 times during the 2018/2019 academic year.
During sentencing, members of the school community shared the lasting impact the threats have had, leaving many with feelings of fear, anxiety, stress, and frustration due to disruptions in their learning.
“It was obviously very disruptive for the Hammarskjold school community to students, staff, and parents,” MacRae said. “But it also filtered out into the system. I think both boards felt the pressure that was created as a result of the situation.”
But MacRae added that it almost feels like a distant memory now, given everything students have gone through during the pandemic.
“I said at the time and I said throughout COVID, we should never underestimate the resiliency of both students and community members when it comes to pulling together through tough times,” he said. “I think they’ve come through it extremely well.”
At the time, Hammarskjold saw a drop in enrolment due to concerns about the ongoing situation, but MacRae said enrolment levels are back to normal, with some students who transferred to another school having since returned.
There was also a significant financial cost associated with the threats. Additional security measures and hiring more supply teachers cost the school board more than $82,000, taken out of reserve and operational budgets, while the Thunder Bay Police Service estimated the cost of investigating the threats to be more than $270,000.
But the incident also provided important lessons, MacRae said, and while there are hopes something like it never happens again, the school board is prepared if it does.
“That is always in the back of your mind. It was difficult to go through and you hope it’s not going to happen, but we certainly learn a lot of lessons from it and we are certainly ready to deal with it should it happen again,” MacRae said.
“We certainly were very aware of some of the gaps we had in our safe schools policy that we tightened up. Our relationship with Thunder Bay Police has never been stronger and we are prepared to deal with situations like that again.”
Both accused individuals also expressed deep remorse for their actions and apologized to their fellow students, staff, and the community, which MacRae said is an important part of achieving closure.
“Young people have difficult lives as it is the way things have evolved in society and certainly remorse is a big part of it, and I think both individuals have shown that they learned from it and are moving on in a positive way in their lives,” he said.
