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Penticton  

Penticton Secondary school hold and secure lifted and students returning home

Ax-wielder incident over

UPDATE: 3:10 p.m.

Todd Manuel, the superintendent for School District 67 told the media Thursday afternoon that the school was put on a hold and secure after students reported a concerning individual wandering around the field with what looked like “a machete or small axe in his backpack. “

“Students were obviously concerned and reported this to our school administrators and they immediately called RCMP,” he said. 

The man was not related to the school or believed to be looking for someone involved or at the school, Manuel said. He approached the students to ask them if they had seen an individual. No threats were made towards the students.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we put our schools into a hold and secure to ensure that students were safe and that RCMP could do their work,” Manuel said. 

A hold and secure means there is a concern outside of the building, and students are locked into the building but not their individual classrooms.

RCMP gave the school the clear to let students go home after about an hour. The school will be sending the message home to parents regarding safety and the incident.

At 3 p.m., students were released as normal at the end of the school day.


UPDATE: 2:55 p.m.
 

A student inside tells Castanet that teachers are allowing students to leave at 3 p.m. They heard reports of a man outside the school wandering with an axe. 

Castanet’s reporter on the scene Chelsea Powrie witnessed a school bus pull up and let a load of kids off into the building, further suggesting the interior is safe.


ORIGINAL: 2:35 p.m.

Penticton Secondary School and KVR Middle School are under a hold and secure. 

Reports on Facebook stated something going on at the Secondary school, which Penticton Secondary School then confirmed the hold and secure was in place.

RCMP are on scene.

More to come... 



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