A teenage girl was set on fire by a fellow student during the lunch hour at Evan Hardy Collegiate today.

At 12:18pm, a call came in about a 15-year-old girl who had been set on fire by a 14-year-old girl. Ken Kane is a Sergeant in the School Resource Unit. He says one of his officers was already at the school during the time of the incident and was able to stabilize the scene within minutes.

“Our officer that was on scene was at the immediate area of the event within 30 seconds, had someone in custody within 60 seconds, and was stabilizing the scene within moments,” Kane explains.

The victim was taken to hospital with serious burns, and the suspect is in police custody.

“One of the teachers apparently did suffer some injuries, as well, trying to put out the fire, so that was the only other person who was injured. No other students or staff, to my knowledge, were injured during the event.” He was also taken to hospital.

Kane says the situation could have been far worse if an officer hadn’t been on-scene.

“The mood in our office right now is quite low, and there are some upset people. Obviously, because this is not something that we ever expected or could really prepare for.”

The investigation continues as police conduct witness interviews to try to determine the appropriate charges for the young suspect.