Two men that were spotted with a rifle in Colwood prompted multiple schools to go into lockdown.
West Shore RCMP say they received a report around 2:30 p.m. that two men in a vehicle near College Road and Thetis Crescent had a long gun, and were seen pointing it towards the trees, before they both walked into a wooded area.
The area was contained by police, and given its close proximity to the two schools, police advised them to go into a hold and secure while the situation unfolded.
Just an hour later, police managed to safely arrest the two men and confirmed that the long gun was an airsoft rifle.
The two men are currently being held in custody, and the investigation is on going.
A spokesperson from School District 61 confirmed that “all of our students are safe and secure.”
The hold and secure for John Stubbs Memorial School and Royal Roads has been lifted after an earlier incident.
The Sooke School District issued a notice of the hold and secure around 3 p.m., and Royal Roads around 3:30.
Shortly after 3:30, the West Shore RCMP tweeted the hold and secure was lifted and more details are to follow.
Police are investigating an incident that took place in the park near John Stubbs School, the school was placed into a hold and secure for a short period of time. At 3:30 pm, hold and secure was lifted, thank you for your patience, more details will be provided in a media release…
— West Shore RCMP (@WestshoreRCMP) April 27, 2023
This is an updated story. The original version is below.
John Stubbs Memorial School is under a lockdown, and Royal Roads has issued a shelter-in-place notice due to an incident.
In a tweet, Royal Roads says there is an unfolding incident on campus. Anyone on campus is advised to shelter in place.
URGENT ALERT: SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER ISSUED
There is an unfolding incident on campus. RCMP is here and handling the situation. Please shelter in place if you are on campus. Visitors should avoid coming to campus. Watch for updates. #Colwood #yyj— Royal Roads (@RoyalRoads) April 27, 2023
John Stubbs Memorial has been directed by Military Police and Westshore RCMP to go into lockdown, according to the Sooke School District.
It isn’t clear what has caused the alert, but a Tweet from the board says that staff and students inside are safe.
Students outside the school on the way to take their evening bus home are being escorted to a safe location and are being taken care of by their driver.
This notification is currently being sent to families of John Stubbs Memorial School directly. We will follow up with additional communications as soon as possible.
— Sooke School District (@SD62_Sooke) April 27, 2023
The alert was released shortly after 3 p.m.
This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available.
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