School District 85 has warned the public of a school shooting threat made at Port Hardy Secondary School (PHSS).
“This afternoon, a teacher at PHSS heard two students discussing a school shooting to take place at PHSS tomorrow (Wednesday),” wrote SD85 in a public information release the school district posted to their Facebook Page on Tuesday, June 5.
SD85 confirmed the school would be open the following day with an “increased police presence” and that “the students involved will not be in attendance at the school tomorrow.”
The school said they contacted the RCMP and there was an ongoing investigation, with SD85 stating that “Based on the information we have, there does not appear to be an immediate risk to the safety of students and staff at the school.”
Port Hardy RCMP Staff Sgt. Wes Olsen confirmed the Port Hardy detachment received a report from PHSS on June 5 at 3:45 p.m stating that “A couple of students were overheard having a conversation about shooting up the school the next day and then laughing. The students were confronted by PHSS Staff about the comments and police were called.”
Port Hardy RCMP attended the school and interviewed the subject students and spoke with their parents.
“The students stated that they were just joking around and apologized for their inappropriate actions. Police spoke with the student’s parents and verified that the students did not have access to any firearms,” said Olsen, adding “The school lock-down procedure was not initiated or required in this matter.”
Olsen said that although the comments made by the students meet the criminal definition of Uttering Threats, police are not recommending charges in this instance as the students readily apologized for their behaviour, were remorseful, and are being sanctioned by the school.
“Police view reports such as these as very serious and investigate the allegations thoroughly to determine whether or not a criminal charge will be recommended,” said Olsen, adding “In this matter police were satisfied that the students were not a continued threat to the schools safety and that the school administration was able to effectively deal with the situation internally.”
