Parents of teen burned at Saskatoon school question how police, school officials handled multiple warnings
CBC
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.
"We went through all the resources and asked for help, over and over again," said one parent in an interview. "Three police reports. I had 17 email exchanges with the principal."
They say they went to the police and the school because the text messages and online threats from the then-14-year-old classmate were escalating into violent territory. CBC reviewed the dated and time-stamped texts.
"We thought as parents that we did what we were supposed to do, that we did the extent of what we could do," said one parent.
"Leave this in the hands of the law, and this person and her attachment issues would go away."
On Sept. 5, 2024, one of the 15-year-olds sustained burns to 40 per cent of her body when another student poured a flammable liquid on her head and torso and lit her on fire in a hallway outside a classroom just before lunch.
The accused, now 15, is charged with aggravated assault, attempted murder and arson. The parents of the burned girl say the accused is the classmate who sent the threatening texts.
CBC is not naming the parents or the teen because she is a youth victim of crime. The accused cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The parents of the burned teen say they met with police and the principal of Evan Hardy the last week of August 2024.
"We were very concerned about this person harassing our daughter and her friends and we wanted to make sure that they are kept separated. She assured us that they would have a plan in place."
Today, the mother is haunted by a different promise, one made in a text to her daughter.
"Answer me or I will make school a living hell."
CBC met the two teens and three of the parents at the home of the burned teen in the last week of February 2025. The five were interviewed individually, each presenting their perspective on what happened in the hallway at Evan Hardy that day and over the summer prior.
They corroborated their stories with the saved texts, and detailed timelines of their meetings with police and the school.
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