Delta police placed two North Delta schools in a "hold and secure" Monday afternoon as they investigated a report of masked youths on school property.
In an email sent around 2:35 p.m., Seaquam Secondary principal Mark Robinson advised parents of the hold and secure, saying the threat is not inside the school and that everyone is safe.
"We have secured your students for their own safety and Delta police will advise when we can dismiss students," Robinson said. "Please don't call the school. We will follow up with an email once the 'hold and secure' has concluded."
In a press release issued at 4:18 p.m., the Delta Police Department said it received a report just before 2 p.m. of a possible planned fight in the area of Seaquam Secondary, which is on the same property as Cougar Canyon Elementary.
Police say five male youths observed wearing ski masks on school property fled when seen by school staff.
Shortly afterwards, a Delta police officer observed a group of youth in the area and saw one of the boys discarding a weapon before fleeing.
"Due to the possibility of a weapon, Seaquam Secondary School and Cougar Canyon Elementary were placed into a hold and secure until police could determine the nature of the incident," the DPD said in its press release.
A K-9 search of the area located an airsoft pistol in the bushes.
The hold and secure was lifted "a short time" after it was put in place, DPD media relations officer Staff Sgt. Mike Whiteley said in an email to the Reporter, at which time police "conducted a co-ordinated release of the schools."
Police remain in the area looking for the youths.
According to the school district’s emergency procedures, a “hold and secure” is used whenever there is a security concern outside of school in the surrounding neighbourhood. Staff bring everyone into the school and keep them there, locking exterior doors and closing the blinds on all windows. No one is allowed to enter or exit the building, but classes and other regular activities continue inside the school.
While “lockdown” is commonly — but incorrectly — used by many to describe heightened security situations in schools, the term is used only when there is an active threat of violence inside a school. In such cases, staff immediately secure their rooms, stop all activities and direct students to hide, keep quiet and not open doors.
For more information on "hold and secure," visit deltasd.bc.ca/district/delta-schools-emergency-procedures.
