One day after a Tobagonian schoolboy allegedly made threats to “shoot up” his school, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) has said it stands ready to respond in the event of attempts to carry out the threat.
Speaking during a TTPS press conference yesterday at the Police Administration building in Port-of-Spain, Public Information Officer Sheridon Hill said there are “major incident response” plans in place to deal with such incidents.
“There are certain protocols...we have well-established policy for major incidents in Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service has its role and other stakeholders have their roles to perform,” Hill said.
According to a report in another newspaper, on Wednesday, a 17-year-old Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation High School student allegedly made threats to shoot up the school.
The boy was barred from sitting the CSEC Mathematics examination being held at the school after teachers reported he was “disruptive and disrespectful.” His threats were later reported to Tobago police.
Yesterday, Hill said police were concerned about the threat of a school shooting, especially in light of recent deadly school shootings in the United States.
“Of course, we are concerned about these incidents and we certainly hope they don’t happen here but we are always concerned about those incidents and we will pay particular attention to our schools, especially in light of the recent incident and the recent reports,” Hill said.
He declined to say whether the student could be charged for his threats, saying the incident was under investigation.
Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly was asked to comment on the incident yesterday but noted that the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA’s) Education Division was addressing it.
Under the Fifth Schedule of the THA Act, the THA has responsibility for matters related to education in Tobago.
— Sharlene Rampersad