A 17-year-old boy is in custody after Westdale Secondary School was in a hold-and-secure position for nearly two hours today after a student there received threats involving a firearm.

Hamilton Police say they “continue to work on confirming the existence of a firearm,” but have made an arrested related to an investigation that began shortly before 10 a.m. on Friday (Oct. 21). Westdale stayed in hold-and-secure until 12 noon before officers confirmed that “a safe resolution” was achieved.

During a hold-and-secure procedure, the outer doors of a school are locked while classes continue. Students are generally considered safe indoors.

“Currently the investigation is ongoing and charges are pending,” Hamilton Police stated in a release sent at 2:27 p.m. on Friday.

A suspect who is under 18 years old cannot be identified under the terms of the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act.

“Hamilton Police recognize the importance of school safety and how a threat of this nature can be difficult for students, staff and their families,” the police added. “Police take incidents like these extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with the school boards to help identify the individuals responsible and lay the appropriate criminal charges where a suspect(s) is identified.”

Anyone with information that could assist police with this investigations should call 905-546-4925.

Westdale faced a shooting threat in early June. A 19-year-old man was arrested in connection with that incident.

Just four weeks ago, Bernie Custis Secondary School in the east end and two nearby elementary schools were placed in a hold-and-secure after reports of gunshots of the area.

Information pertinent to any Hamilton criminal investigation may also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers (1-800-222-8477; online at crimestoppershamilton.com).