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Happenstance appears to have played a significant role in preventing a chaotic scene at a Saskatoon high school from getting even further out of control, according to Saskatoon police.
“This is not just another day at the office,” Sgt. Ken Kane said, conveying the level of shock among staff in the Saskatoon Police Service’s school resource officers’ unit after a serious assault on Thursday involving students at Evan Hardy Collegiate.
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An officer happened to be at the high school on an unrelated call around 12:15 p.m. when a 14-year-old girl is alleged to have attacked a 15-year-old girl by setting her on fire.
“Everyone looks to the uniform to do something, and he did exactly what we would expect him to do,” Kane said, noting the responding officer arrived at the scene of the incident within about 30 seconds, and had the suspect in custody shortly thereafter. Firefighters and paramedics arrived to assist within minutes.
The injured girl was taken to hospital. Kane did not have any information on the extent of her injuries.
He confirmed that a teacher was also hurt while trying to put out the flames, but did not have any update on the extent of his injuries.
An emailed statement to the StarPhoenix from Saskatoon Public Schools said the injured student and staff member were transported to hospital with serious injuries.
Students were sent home Thursday afternoon and classes and other activities at Evan Hardy were cancelled for Friday; ongoing supports are to be in place for students and staff affected by the potentially traumatic incident.
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Kane said detectives are expected to interview witnesses and school staff in the coming days to try to piece together what happened and what relationship there was, if any, between the suspect and the alleged victim.
The suspect, whose identity is protected under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was to remain in custody while police continued to gather evidence and determine the extent of any charges.
Thursday was the second full day of classes for high school students in the 2024-25 school year. The lunch break, which at Evan Hardy runs from 12:17-1:07 p.m., had just started when the incident took place.
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