Whitby high school stabbing victim and suspect ID’d as teen girls

The victim and suspect have been identified as a pair of 14-year-old girls.

Durham Regional Police announced the attack at Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School at 1020 Dryden Blvd. 12:30 p.m. Sept. 18. At the time, the school was on lockdown as police investigated but the lockdown was quickly lifted.

The school sits in a suburban neighbourhood in the town’s north end. It is surrounded by homes and green spaces and is next to St. Bernard’s Catholic Elementary School.

Minutes later, investigators said they had a suspect in custody and the victim was en route to a Toronto hospital. At the time, investigators did not disclose any information about the suspect or the victim.

However, police held a press conference shortly after 2 p.m. to share additional details. They said both the suspect and the victim were 14-year-old students at the school. Media officer Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss said police could not yet confirm if it was a targeted attack or not.

“Anyone that saw what led up to this, anyone that has any information and obviously any cell phone cameras relating to it, we are asking that you turn those over to investigators,” she said.

She did say that there was no threat to public safety. The school had fully returned to service by the time Bortoluss spoke to reporters. The suspect has not yet been charged and police were unsure which she would face.