Saskatoon Judge Sentences Teen to 3 Years for School Fire Attack

A Saskatoon judge sentenced a 16-year-old girl to three years in custody and supervision on Monday for attempting to murder a fellow student by setting her on fire in a high school hallway more than a year earlier. The attack occurred during lunchtime at Evan Hardy Collegiate on September 5, 2024, when the offender, then 14, doused the 15-year-old victim with lighter fluid and ignited it.

Court of King's Bench Justice Krista Zerr imposed the maximum penalty available under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act, consisting of two years in intensive rehabilitative custody followed by one year of community supervision. The sentence, delivered on March 16, 2026, followed a joint recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers and received no credit for time already served. The girl had pleaded guilty last December to attempted murder and to unlawfully causing bodily harm after a teacher suffered burns while rushing to the victim's aid.

Details of the incident emerged during the sentencing hearing. The two girls had once been friends, but their relationship deteriorated into obsession, threats, and escalating tension. Educational assistants were accompanying the offender in the hallway...