Durham Regional Police are warning parents and youth about 'The Com' -- short for 'the community' -- a network of online predators that uses grooming, manipulation, coercion and intimidation to exploit young people, pressuring them into harmful activities including creating and sharing exploitative images, self-harm and crimes against others. Police say targets are approached through Discord, Roblox, Snapchat, Minecraft, Twitch and Steam, with compliance forced through doxing, swatting and exposure of private information.
The warning follows a swatting incident on Oct. 9, when Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School in Oshawa was placed into lockdown after an unspecified threat, with Adelaide McLaughlin Public School and R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate placed in hold and secure. No injuries were reported and no suspects are in custody.
Police say they have seen an increasing trend in incidents related to the group, including earlier cases at William Dunbar Public School in Pickering. Anyone with information or concerns can find online-safety resources at drps.ca/onlinesafety. No suspects have been named and no charges have been announced in connection with the swatting incident; the allegations have not been tested in court. Sources: durhamregion.com reporting by Moya Dillon, Oct. 15, 2026, citing a Durham Regional Police statement released Oct. 13, including on-the-record comment from Acting Sgt. Nicholas Gluckstein.
Behind the story
Sources & publication details
- Byline
- Daily Durham News
- Published
- Oct 16, 2026, 8:17 a.m.
- Source
- www.durhamregion.com
