Parents of teen burned at Saskatoon school question how police, school officials handled multiple warnings

The parents of 2 15-year-old girls astatine Evan Hardy Collegiate successful Saskatoon accidental they went to constabulary and the schoolhouse aggregate times betwixt June and August 2024 with concerns astir escalating online threats from the pupil present accused of mounting 1 of the girls connected occurrence successful a schoolhouse hallway.

"We went done each the resources and asked for help, implicit and implicit again," said 1 genitor successful an interview. "Three constabulary reports. I had 17 email exchanges with the principal."

They accidental they went to the constabulary and the schoolhouse due to the fact that the substance messages and online threats from the then-14-year-old classmate were escalating into convulsive territory. CBC reviewed the dated and time-stamped texts.

"We thought arsenic parents that we did what we were expected to do, that we did the grade of what we could do," said 1 parent.

"Leave this successful the hands of the law, and this idiosyncratic and her attachment issues would spell away."

On Sept. 5, 2024, 1 of the 15-year-olds sustained burns to 40 per cent of her assemblage erstwhile different pupil poured a flammable liquid connected her caput and torso and lit her connected occurrence successful a hallway extracurricular a schoolroom conscionable earlier lunch.

The accused, present 15, is charged with aggravated assault, attempted execution and arson. The parents of the burned miss accidental the accused is the classmate who sent the threatening texts.

CBC is not naming the parents oregon the teen due to the fact that she is simply a younker unfortunate of crime. The accused cannot beryllium named nether the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The parents of the burned teen accidental they met with constabulary and the main of Evan Hardy the past week of August 2024.

"We were precise acrophobic astir this idiosyncratic harassing our girl and her friends and we wanted to marque definite that they are kept separated. She assured america that they would person a program successful place."

Today, the parent is haunted by a antithetic promise, 1 made successful a substance to her daughter.

"Answer maine oregon I volition marque schoolhouse a surviving hell."

WATCH | Parents accidental police, schoolhouse had aggregate warnings earlier teen was burned astatine Saskatoon school: 

'Politely asked her to measurement back'

CBC met the 2 teens and 3 of the parents astatine the location of the burned teen successful the past week of February 2025. The 5 were interviewed individually, each presenting their position connected what happened successful the hallway astatine Evan Hardy that time and implicit the summertime prior.

They corroborated their stories with the saved texts, and elaborate timelines of their meetings with constabulary and the school.

The parents became progressive astatine the commencement of the summertime interruption successful 2024, the parent of the injured miss said.

"June 30 was the archetypal clip she brought this to my attention. She showed maine her telephone and said that she's been getting these substance messages from idiosyncratic from Evan Hardy that she didn't cognize precise well," she said.

"She benignant of backed distant and told them, 'I hardly cognize you truthful we don't person to speech each day.' And politely asked her to measurement back. And she wouldn't measurement back, truthful our girl got her person involved."

WATCH | Teen miss lit connected occurrence astatine precocious schoolhouse tells her communicative for archetypal time: 

The teen's person says she messaged the girl.

"I tried my champion to get them to stop," the 15-year-old said.

"I redirected them erstwhile [the texts] were starting to get much violent. I told them, like, 'calm down and speech to maine instead.'"

Instead, some teens began getting threatening texts.

The 2 moms and 2 teens got unneurotic connected a telephone telephone to effort to fig retired what to do.

"Within conscionable a fewer minutes being brought into the conversation, a substance was received [by 1 teen] that said you should slit your wrists and termination yourself. So, we blocked everything — that's done. This is not play time," the genitor said.

Both sets of parents accidental they went to constabulary the adjacent day, July 1, and filed abstracted complaints.

Police, Saskatoon Public Schools respond

In an email to CBC connected March 4, 2025, Saskatoon constabulary said they can't remark connected the substance due to the fact that it is earlier the courts.

However, a spokesperson said constabulary collaborate with schoolhouse divisions done their convulsive menace appraisal process.

"As a spouse successful this approach, the SPS provides contextual accusation to assistance schoolhouse divisions and different stakeholders successful assessing and managing imaginable threats," communications manager Kelsie Fraser wrote.

"This collaborative effort helps instrumentality plans to heighten schoolhouse safety."

A spokesperson for Saskatoon Public Schools said successful an email that the part would not beryllium providing an interview. CBC had contacted the part requesting an interrogation to sermon the information plan, the after-incident audit and immoderate changes to schoolhouse part argumentation aft the attack.

"We can't accidental thing circumstantial astir this incidental portion it remains earlier the courts. We besides don't talk to particulars of pupil incidents astatine immoderate clip to support the privateness of minors," wrote communications manager Colleen Cameron.

"This would see the details of immoderate student's information plan."

Cameron elaborate immoderate changes the part made aft the attack. They see introducing an anonymous, third-party information reporting instrumentality called P-S-S-T World and "enhancing the documentation process for students who are exhibiting concerning behaviours oregon utilizing concerning language."

School administrators specified arsenic superintendents, principals and vice-principals are besides to person further training.

The part besides introduced the "Student Connection Program," designed to enactment students who can't enactment successful a accepted schoolhouse mounting owed to information concerns.

Cameron besides confirmed the outer audit of the incidental was happening and would see interviews and "a reappraisal of documentation."

She did not accidental erstwhile the reappraisal would beryllium finished, oregon whether the findings would beryllium made nationalist oregon shared with the families.

The parents of the injured teen contacted schoolhouse part manager of acquisition Shane Skjerven on March 7 for an update connected the autarkic report. Cameron confirmed to CBC successful an email that Skjerven had been successful interaction with the family.

"A preliminary study has been provided to our division's ineligible counsel. This is simply a indispensable portion of the process to guarantee afloat practice with the ongoing investigation," she wrote.

"Our counsel has indicated we volition beryllium capable to conscionable successful the not-too-distant aboriginal for a briefing connected the report's contents. Of course, we volition beryllium successful interaction with those astir instantly impacted astatine that time. And, beyond that, we volition stock what we tin with due parties."

A summertime of discontent

The parents accidental they repeatedly contacted constabulary and the schoolhouse successful July and August.

They were told aft their archetypal reports connected July 1 that a record had been opened, but that it would beryllium dealt with by the constabulary schoolhouse assets serviceman successful the fall, "since determination was nary schoolhouse successful session, and successful August the schoolhouse assets serviceman was re-assigned to immoderate different gig for the summer," the parent of the injured teen said.

The parents accidental the school's main reached retired connected July 5 and said she had contacted the guardians of the miss sending the texts and shared what was happening.

The threatening messages slowed for a fewer weeks, but past resumed successful August, the parents said.

"She would accidental things astir hurting herself and hurting different people, truthful we went again to the constabulary station, filed the 2nd study and quoted the archetypal study fig truthful that they would beryllium attached, oregon together," the ma of the injured teen said.

This led to the gathering with constabulary and the main conscionable earlier schoolhouse began.

"She, the principal, said the close words to fto america know, oregon consciousness like, our girl would beryllium harmless astatine school."

'Voices told her to bash things'

The parents accidental they did not larn the details of the information program until a gathering with the main aft the 15-year-old was burned.

The then-14-year-old was to spell straight to the medication bureau for a one-on-meeting to measure whether she was "regulated and acceptable for school, and to bash a backpack check," the parent of the injured teen's person said.

"I was told that this happened connected the Wednesday, the archetypal time of school, and that they deemed the accused not ready, not balanced, not capable to enactment and they dismissed them and sent them home," she said.

"On the Thursday the accused came successful and was processed the aforesaid way: spoke to the vice-principal and we were told determination was a container check. At immoderate constituent during the greeting determination was different appraisal deemed — I'm not definite what triggered it — but they had decided the accused was not balanced and acceptable for school."

The teen was escorted by 2 teachers to an exit to hold for a pick-up, according to the parent of the injured girl's champion friend, based connected a speech she said she had with the principal. The exit was successful the hallway adjacent wherever the injured teen was successful her past class.

The schoolhouse part would not supply immoderate remark connected the events of that day for this story.

The parents of the injured teen did not larn until later, erstwhile the accused had been arrested and charged and appeared successful court, that she had been successful and retired of psychiatric attraction that summer.

The accusation came retired successful a September quality successful younker court. Her lawyer had applied for an appraisal of whether the then-14-year-old was not criminally responsible. Judge Sanjeev Anand granted the petition to measure whether, astatine the clip of the alleged offence, the teen was suffering from a intelligence disorder.

Under questioning by Anand, tribunal heard that the teen had been nether the attraction of a caregiver practitioner and had been diagnosed with a "psychotic disorder." She had besides been admitted to infirmary that summertime for exigency psychiatric care.

The justice besides heard however the teen had told Saskatoon constabulary "voices told her to bash things" successful the moments aft her 15-year-old classmate was lit connected fire.

CBC besides learned that the onslaught was not the archetypal clip the accused and occurrence were an contented astatine the school.

Teachers astatine the schoolhouse confirmed the accused had tried to airy ceiling tiles successful a room broadside country connected occurrence connected March 25, 2024. She was suspended for 3 days and ordered to taxable to container checks. CBC is not naming the teachers due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publicly.

The City of Saskatoon confirmed that the occurrence section responded to a telephone astatine 605 Acadia Dr. connected March 25, 2024. That is the code for Evan Hardy Collegiate. They were called to the schoolhouse to supply ventilation.

The roadworthy ahead

The parents of the injured teen bash not cognize what lies ahead.

Her dada says they were interviewed by the outer researcher contracted by the Saskatoon Public School Division for an audit of what happened. They spent an hr with the researcher telling their story, but the dada says helium doesn't cognize what volition go of the study oregon its findings.

Both parents person attended the accused's tribunal appearances. The ineligible process is slow, confusing and uncertain. The accused has pleaded not blameworthy to the charges and a four-day preliminary proceeding is scheduled astatine provincial tribunal successful July.

In the end, the parents privation an unfastened accounting from the constabulary and the schoolhouse astir what happened.

"There's accusation that they won't stock with america until this goes to trial, oregon until this comes to an end," the injured teen's dada said.

"Then we tin spot what tin beryllium done amended adjacent clip truthful this doesn't hap again and different household doesn't person to spell done what we're going through, and what our girl has to spell done for the remainder of her life."

Today, they are focused connected their daughter's healing journey.

"She's a beardown young woman. She has atrocious hours, and they are getting fewer, but she powers done those releases of vexation and pain," said her dad.

"A batch of things person changed, but a batch of things person stayed the same," said the girl's mom.

"Her personality, her resilience, her spot and courage. She's truthful brave to speech astir what happened, and she's truthful brave to beryllium retired successful the world. We volition spell to a market store oregon the promenade and it's OK. There are immoderate radical who look due to the fact that her tegument looks precise antithetic than excavation oregon your steadfast skin.

"But I deliberation the staring is mostly retired of concern, and the radical person the questions: I wonderment if that's the miss from Evan Hardy?"