Manitoba

12-year-old arrested after online threat — later deemed a hoax — targeted Portage la Prairie school

An online threat that prompted the cancellation of morning classes at Portage Collegiate Institute has been deemed a hoax and led to the arrest of a 12-year-old girl.

No information provided by RCMP about nature of threat

The outside of a building is shown.
Portage Collegiate Institute was closed for the morning after a threat was posted online. (Google Street View)

An online threat that prompted the cancellation of morning classes at Portage Collegiate Institute has been deemed a hoax and led to the arrest of a 12-year-old girl.

Police were told around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday about threats made on a social media platform, aimed at Portage Collegiate Institute in Portage la Prairie, Man., RCMP said in an email to CBC News.

No information was provided about the nature of the threat.

The school and division were notified and "the decision was made to cancel classes out of an abundance of caution as police investigated the matter," the Portage la Prairie School Division said in a Facebook post later in the day.

Shuttle buses connecting at the school were also cancelled.

Officers investigated and identified a suspect, RCMP said.

The 12-year-old girl from Portage la Prairie was arrested and later released with no charges, but the investigation continues, RCMP said. There is no further threat to the school, they said.

The girl is not a student at the school, the division's Facebook post says.

Classes will resume with Period 5 at 1:22 p.m., and all buses will run as normal, the division said.

Portage la Prairie is about 80 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

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