Oakville Man Charged After Weapons Scare Sparks Hold and Secure

Published June 12, 2018 at 10:20 pm

A 19-year-old man is facing charges following an incident which led to three schools being placed in hold and secure in Oakville.

A 19-year-old man is facing charges following an incident which led to three schools being placed in hold and secure in Oakville.

“We erred on the side of obvious caution,” said Halton police Sgt. Dana Nicholas.

It took place on June 11 around 10:35 a.m..

The man approached a male victim in the parking lot at the Thomas Merton Centre for Continuing Education – that’s part of the Halton Catholic District School Board – on Speers Rd., asking for a cigarette.

The suspect then took off with the victim’s vaporizer, investigators allege.

The victim contacted police reporting a theft, Nicholas confirmed, saying he may have seen a weapon in a bag the suspect was carrying.

This prompted the hold and secure at nearby schools and a daycare — not at the Halton Region Child Care Centre but at another facility in the area, according to an halton.insauga.com reader.

The canine unit was brought in and “full resources” were deployed, said Nicholas, adding the man “was quickly identified and charged.”

No weapon was found. 

Shayne Verghese of Oakville is charged with theft under $5,000 and fail to comply with probation.

He was released on a promise to appear with a court date in July.

File photo courtesy of Halton Regional Police

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