A possibly armed man was forced to detain students and staff for around four hours on Friday afternoon at the Collège Lionel Groulx in Saint-Thérèse. Dozens of patrol officers from various police forces are stationed on Montreal’s North Shore.
“We have no information that a suspect may have entered the CEGEP,” Luc Laroque, chief inspector of the Regi Intermunicipale de Police Thérèse-de Blainville (RIPTB), said in a press scrum.
The RIPTB confirmed that “premises and people have been secured”, “no criminal activity has been committed at Collège Lionel-Crouulx in the last hours” and “no injuries and no arrests”. On the other hand, the police are trying to find out if an armed person is indeed roaming in the area.
At approximately 1:35 p.m., RIPTB received a call about a possibly armed person near the college. The establishment then triggered a “white code”, indicating the possible presence of a violent person. “Under the circumstances, you will understand that no chances are being taken,” said Mr. Larocque said.
Throughout the afternoon, police searched the interior of the college, whose entrances were barricaded, to make sure there was no danger, Sergeant Karin DeSaulniers said. want.
The Cégep occupiers began to evacuate in drips and drains around 6 p.m. “It’s been so long and we’re so excited to go out,” said Leah Prudholm, a student who left the college with her friends around 6:30 p.m.
“It was really confusing.”
Caroline Prevost, the mother of a 17-year-old student, said: “Just before 2pm, my daughter called me to tell me she loved me, and she has been very worried ever since. She finally left the college at 7pm. It was “reassuring” to know there was no danger, but the incident still ” Scared the little adults,” he said.
Chief Inspector LaRocque could not specify the number of students restrained, but estimated “well over a hundred”.
Shortly after the police were informed of the suspect’s presence, the Cégep first encouraged students to leave, ordering them to be jailed.
“At least the majority of the students were able to leave first,” said Sentee Paula Lynn Ball, who left her French class immediately after a message on the intercom introduced the “white code.” “It was very confusing,” says her friend Aïssata Sy, who was in the same class. “Our teacher told us: ‘You stay in control'”, but the students decided to go out anyway. Most of the students left despite a few moments of hesitation.
The safety of CEGEPs has been questioned
This is the third such incident at Quebec CEGEP in a week.
Last Friday, A 19-year-old man has been arrested Because he wore a bulletproof jacket in front of the Cégep de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The college administration ordered a siege of the encroachers. On the evening of the same day, Four people were shot Based at Collège Montmorency in Laval, the facility was put on lockdown for about five hours.
Parents and students met Duty at Lionel-Croulcs College They are unanimous: CEGEPs should review their safety protocols to avoid sowing anxiety and misinformation during events like this, they say. “People said there was an active shooter – in the school and on social networks, but that’s not true,” says critic Leah Prudholm of the chaotic situation that reigned at the school.
“We can’t believe it happened at St. Therese. We see that events like this can happen in Laval in Montreal, but to see it here is really disturbing,” began Aïssata Sy. He also laments that misinformation on social media has contributed to the anxiety of many restricted students.
Lionel-Groulx College welcomes nearly 6,000 students and has approximately 800 employees.
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