A male youth has been arrested following Tuesday's "hold and secure" drama at McMath secondary in Steveston.
According to Richmond RCMP, the suspect is not known to police and they are happy that the situation has been resolved peacefully.
The McMath students were dismissed for the day, albeit 30 minutes early. An email sent to the parents by the school at around 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday said that the matter is "now an active police investigation and, as you will understand, we are not able to provide any further information at this time.
"We will provide additional information when it becomes possible to do so. Students were dismissed at 2:30pm and were asked to go home directly."
Earlier in the day, McMath was under what officials described as a “hold and secure” procedure, after a threat of a mass shooting was posted online at some point on Monday, the Richmond News understands.
The online Instagram message, seen by the News, appeared anonymous and threatened students in the LGBTQ and Jewish communities.
“McMath students are currently remaining in their first period classrooms in response to a concerning message that was posted recently. All students and staff are safe and the RCMP are on site following district protocol,” stated a message on the school's website Tuesday morning.
There were seven police cars, four on the school grounds, at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
One parent told the News outside the school that the situation was a "code yellow."
While initially described by the News as a "lockdown," school district spokesperson David Sadler said the event is defined under district protocol as a “hold and secure” situation, whereby there is no “imminent threat,” as opposed to a “lockdown” situation whereby there is an imminent threat within the school.
Sadler said under “hold and secure,” students and teachers were nevertheless barred from leaving their classrooms and no one other than police was allowed inside the school.
In a “lockdown” procedure, it is necessary to quickly secure everyone inside a locked room, whereas with a “hold and secure” situation there is no deemed need to lock doors, according to the district.
Sadler said the district was made aware of the threat after classes commenced.
Richmond RCMP said in a statement just after 11 a.m. that its investigation began “late yesterday afternoon after Richmond RCMP School Liaison officers responded to investigate a series of WIFI SSID spoofing incidents.
“The investigation has now progressed into a series of threats directed towards the school,” police noted.
“The Richmond RCMP takes all reports of threats to the safety of students or teachers in our community very seriously. We have conducted a comprehensive safety assessment along with the Richmond School District. Based on this assessment, a decision was made to hold and secure the school,” said Cpl. Dennis Hwang.
"As the investigation remains active and ongoing, the nature and specifics surrounding the threat will not be disclosed," Hwnag added.
RCMP also stated on Twitter that the threat was “unspecified.”
