RCMP logo shown in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

By The Canadian Press

B.C. youth charged over alleged school shooting threats in chats with U.S. teen

Mar 30, 2026 | 4:35 PM

SOOKE — Police on Vancouver Island say a youth who lives in Sooke, B.C., has been charged after allegedly making threats about a school shooting in online chats with a 15-year-old in the United States.

Sooke RCMP said in statement Monday that the investigation was spurred after police in Louisville, Ky., made contact earlier this month about a 15-year-old there who had been communicating with “someone from Canada” over the gaming platform Discord.

Mounties said the B.C. youth is a student at Edward Milne Community School, and the arrest was made on Saturday.

Police said they searched the youth’s home and seized electronic devices and the investigation is ongoing.

They said the homeland security unit of the Louisville Metro Police Department started investigating the alleged threats in July 2025.

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RCMP said the Canadian youth is in custody before a bail hearing, and the case is subject to court-ordered publication bans.

The charges come after a spate of threats against schools in B.C. this year and the deadly school shooting in Tumbler Ridge last month.

Burnaby RCMP said this month that two threats were made against Burnaby North Secondary School within a week, prompting lockdowns.

Campbell River RCMP said this month that “a series of online threats” escalated between a group of youths, and rumours “took off like wildfire” on social media about shootings at two schools in the city, but there was “no credible threat” to staff or students at the schools.

Elk Valley RCMP in southeastern B.C. also responded to online threats against a school in February, but they were found to have been made by a man well known to police there who was more than 1,000 kilometres away at the time.

Coquitlam RCMP also reported a series of threats against schools in February, but they found no evidence that the threats were credible.

“We understand the frustration and concern that the public may feel in response to these incidents,” Coquitlam RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Adriana O’Malley said at the time. “However, we want to remind the public that these incidents are designed to create fear and gain publicity. Publicly circulating or amplifying unverified information can contribute to further disruptions.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2026.

The Canadian Press