

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A massive cleanup is underway at an east end high school after a mix of peanut butter and cooking oil was smeared throughout the building as part of an apparent prank.

Staff at Senator O’Connor College School near Lawrence Avenue and Victoria Park Avenue discovered the mess on Wednesday morning.

According to Toronto Catholic District School Board Spokesperson John Yan, it appears as though a student or students entered the school earlier in the day and proceeded to smear the mixture “throughout a large portion of the school, including on floors, stairs and doorknobs and handles.”

Yan said the apparent prank is particularly upsetting because of the prevalence of serious peanut allergies among students.

“We do have a number of pranks that are part of the high school culture but this one unfortunately crosses that line between a prank, vandalism and something that is life threatening,” he said.

Yan said that Grade 10 and 12 students have been sent home while the affected areas of the school are cleaned. Meanwhile, classes for Grade 9 and 11 students are continuing as scheduled due to the quick cleanup of the parts of the building where those students reside.

At this point, a culprit has not been identified but Yan said that the principal of the school will be conducting a full investigation.

“Appropriate disciplinary measures will certainly be taken,” he said.