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Stabbing took place in well known 'hot spot' of Pierrefonds
Police have increased surveillance in the area
Karen Seidman
The Gazette
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The city of Pierrefonds is very aware of a “hot spot” across the street from Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School where a boy was stabbed last week. And officials are working to improve security there, a borough spokesman said last week.
City councillor Bert Ward said the strip mall across from the high school has been a “hot spot,” an area where there have been “numerous confrontations between students.”
He said that over the years the city has had many conversations with the school and the owner of the strip mall to discuss ways to improve security.
“We will discuss it again,” said Ward, who believed the school’s efforts to discourage students from going across the street had been working quite well.
“This incident was a surprise because the school has been working to alleviate the problem,” he said, referring to the stabbing last week of a teenager.
A 16-year-old boy from the school was stabbed several times in the upper body last week during an altercation with two teens who aren’t students at the Pierrefonds school.
The assault occurred just before students were let out for their lunch break.
The victim wasn’t seriously injured and police arrested two teens who were identified by witnesses and were found nearby on Elgin St. within 20 minutes of the attack. They are both from Pierrefonds.
Michel Wilson, commander of Station 3, said the police have increased their patrols of the area in the wake of the stabbing and visited the school to calm the students. He said the investigation is still under way, but it does not appear to be a gang-related crime.
“Word-of-mouth goes quickly with that type of thing, so we’re just working to make sure people feel safe,” said Wilson.
He said that making the arrests helped ease the tension among students and that things were quieter this week.
Pierrefonds Mayor Monique Worth commended the police for doing a great job and said the city is ready to help in any way possible.
“It seems to be one unfortunate, isolated incident,” said Worth.
School principal Cristina Prata said the school has asked the city for cameras in the area to improve security.
“There are a lot of comings and goings there,” she said.
She is pleased that police have increased surveillance and said the school will continue to discourage students from wandering across the street to the strip mall.
“We will continue to take all measures to secure the highest standards of safety for our students,” Prata said in a letter to parents.