Toronto police have charged a 13-year-old boy with allegedly pointing replica toy gun at students at Etobicoke Secondary School for money.
The incident happened Tuesday afternoon at Lanno Junior High School in the Brown's Line and Evans Avenue area.
An unknown number of students were in the bathroom at the time, police said, and one of them pointed at "what appeared to be a gun" and demanded money.
Officers arrived at the scene and recovered a replica toy gun. No injuries were reported.
On Wednesday, police announced that a 13-year-old boy had been charged with two counts of armed robbery.
He cannot be identified within the meaning of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Police said the boy will appear in court next month.
The principal provided further details about the incident in a letter to parents and carers earlier on Wednesday.
One student brought a replica toy gun and showed it to other students in the boys' bathroom, Robert Nigro said. One of the students reported the incident before being discharged, he said.
"This allegation was taken very seriously. As soon as I had this information my priority was student and staff safety. All students were in class and the hallways were clear," Nigro wrote.
He added that he confiscated the item and confirmed it was a toy.
"This was done in a matter of minutes, prior to the dismissal bell at the end of the day," Nigro wrote.
He said there was no risk to the safety of the school community as the toy gun was immediately confiscated. School was not locked down.
"My priority then shifted to focusing on the impacted students, ensuring they were supported and informing the parents of all the students involved in the incident," he wrote.
No further information will be released about the incident as the police are investigating, but Nigro said: "please rest assured we are taking every step, in line with our policies and procedures, to ensure our school remains a safe learning and work environment for students and staff."
The incident comes less than a week after six people were shot during an altercation in a bathroom at an East York school.
A school outreach worker was injured when a bullet bounced off a wall, police said.
During the CP24 breakfast, Mayor John Tory said the city, the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Police Service are working together to address school violence.
"It's very frustrating for me… what kind of circumstances would cause a young person even to bring a replica gun to school because, you know, if you think of how badly that could have ended," Tory said.
"We're trying to put a team effort to this to make sure we do whatever we can to stem these incidents."
Source: cp24
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