Gun call locks down schools
by Blake Wolfe/The Scugog Standard

Durham police arrested a 17-year-old Scugog youth last Wednesday (Jan. 18) after a heavy police presence descended on the neighbourhood surrounding Port Perry High School, in response to a firearms call that afternoon.
_According to police, the youth, who can’t be named and who is not a student of the local high school, allegedly waved a handgun at several other teens on Cochrane St. at around noon that day. A PPHS student told school staff about the incident, which prompted police to place the school under lockdown for the afternoon. Police advised other local schools, such as nearby R.H. Cornish Public School, of the incident and issued the same order.
_Nearby streets were blocked off by police cruisers while members of the force’s Tactical Support Unit conducted an investigation of properties in the neighbourhood, concentrated near the intersection of Paxton St. and Cochrane St.
_At approximately 2:30 p.m., officers located the 17-year-old male suspect and arrested him without incident outside the Scugog Memorial Public Library on Water St., seizing an imitation handgun in the process. No injuries were reported. The youth faces several weapons charges and was held for a bail hearing.
_Library staff and patrons who spoke to The Standard afterward were mostly unaware of the incident that took place just outside the building.
_The investigation is continuing. Anyone with new information is asked to contact Det./Cst. Heitzner of the North Division Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-888-579-1520, ext. 2696. Anonymous tips can also be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or on the web site at www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca.