Death threat charge laid against Burlington man who attends university in Mississauga
Published October 16, 2023 at 5:32 pm
A 19-year-old University of Toronto Mississauga student from Burlington has been charged by police with uttering death threats after “threatening and hateful” messages in relation to the UTM community were posted to social media.
In a message to the UTM community on the post-secondary institution’s website Sunday night, UTM vice-president and principal Alexandra Gillespie said the student has also been banned from all University of Toronto campuses and university property.
Gillespie’s message also noted that Campus Safety officials were made aware over the weekend “of threatening and hateful messages in relation to the UTM community that had been posted to a social media platform.”
She wrote in the “community safety update” that campus officials “responded quickly, notified Peel Regional Police and reported the incident.”
The UTM official added that police subsequently arrested and charged a UTM student.
The student was released with conditions that include not attending any U of T campus or property, Gillespie continued.
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In an email to insauga.com this afternoon, a Peel Regional Police spokesperson confirmed that a 19-year-old man from Burlington has been charged with utter threats to cause death.
He was released with conditions and will appear in Brampton court at a later date.
The police spokesperson said they are not releasing the name of the accused at this time.
Police said they initially responded on Saturday to reports of a “threatening social media post.”
Anyone with information on the investigation is asked to call police at 905-453-2121, ext. 1133, or Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
While UTM didn’t say what group or groups of people were the target of the “threatening and hateful” messages, the university did state its policy with respect to such messages.
“Antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, hate and discrimination of any kind have no place on our campus,” Gillespie wrote. “We all play a role in keeping our campus a safe and welcoming place, and we encourage anyone who is made aware of concerning behaviours or messages to immediately contact Campus Safety and/or Peel Regional Police.”
The message from the UTM vice-president and principal also noted that, moving forward, there will be an “increased security presence on campus.”
Police forces in Peel and across the GTA have been on heightened alert for any violence or violent protests in the wake of a surprise attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas against Israel that killed hundreds.
The continued fighting since then has reverberated around the globe.
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