Two incidents involving an angry Main Street resident led to security concerns at Franco-Cité high school last week, and three charges against the 48-year old man.
On Thursday, Nov. 4, a Grade 12 student parked in front of the school, along Main Street in an area where it is legal to park, and was confronted by the resident who lives across the street from the school. According to reports, the man expressed anger that the student had honked his horn, and frustration with students parking across the street from his home. The student’s mother then reportedly confronted the man and the situation escalated.
Franco-Cité Principal Eric Gendron says he could see the confrontation and it appeared the man was becoming more agitated and “verbally violent”. He called police to intervene, and OPP officers attended the man’s home and left with him in handcuffs. While Gendron did not see the man doing damage to the vehicle, police report that minor damage was done to the rear passenger side light, leading to a charge of mischief.
Gendron says he thought he may have to impose a lockdown, as the situation occurred around 2 p.m. and students were due to leave around 3 p.m. However, that became unnecessary when police took the man away. “There was nothing going on on the street anymore, so we were able to let the students out,” he states.
However the next morning, the man was back home and became agitated once again when another Grade 12 student parked along Main Street. Gendron says there was no confrontation this time, but the man struck the parked vehicle. According to Gendron, there was no serious damage to the student’s vehicle, other than perhaps a damaged license plate.
