Erin Haluschak
Record Staff
Several youths are in custody after G.P. Vanier students and staff were in lockdown at the school Tuesday afternoon following a threat.
Const. Rob Gardner of the Comox Valley RCMP said the school was put into lockdown as per School District 71Safe School protocol, to ensure the safety of students and staff.
"An investigation was launched to identify the origin of the threat and to ensure the continuous safety of everyone involved," said Gardner.
He noted to ensure public safety, the lockdown was being lifted systematically due to the amount of people in the area.
Gardner said the actual origin of the threat is part of the investigation, and could not identify the type of threat.
"The important thing to remember again is that we have a Safe School program that was able to be implemented and worked out really well in this situation," and added as part of the protocol, police discourage students and staff to use any form of communication within the school to make sure there is no way to identify where people are located.
The school was locked down for approximately two hours.
The investigation into the threat continues.