Youth charged in Manitoba school attack plot had threatened kids with knife, parents say

Parents in a small southwestern Manitoba community allege a 14-year-old boy charged in connection with a school attack threat had a history of threatening others, in some cases holding other youth at knifepoint.

Three individual parents of teens who attend Rivers Collegiate in Rivers, about 225 kilometres west of Winnipeg, allege the accused youth threatened their children with a knife — and in one case said RCMP became involved.

CBC has agreed not to name the parents due to their concerns for the safety of their families.

“I feel like a lot could have been done for that child before he got to this point,” said one parent, whose daughter spoke with RCMP.

“This didn’t happen overnight. There was years and years of warning signs, and this child was really screaming out for help.”

The 14-year-old was arrested on March 16, after police in Bridgewater, N.S., said they were alerted by the international police agency Interpol and the FBI about online communications between the Rivers teen and a 15-year-old in the Nova Scotia town.

Read more: CBC News