The Greater Victoria School district says it has lifted the lockdown at two schools after police responded to a report regarding a man with “what appeared to be a firearm” in the area.
Police posted a message on Twitter alerting the public about the firearm report about the report at 12:21 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
At the time of the posting, VicPD said the man was seen initially in the area near SJ Willis School.
The man was then spotted moving towards the area of Topaz Park, according to police.
Officers are responding to a report of a man w what appeared to be a firearm in the area near SJ Willis school. He was last seen moving towards the area of Topaz Park. Please avoid the area. #F214473 #yyj #yyjtraffic
— Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) February 2, 2021
Officers advised the public to avoid the area as police responded to the call.
Nine minutes after (12:30) VicPD posted the message on social media, the Greater Victoria School District announced that two schools had gone into lockdown in response to the incident. The two schools are SJ Willis and Quadra Elementary. SJ Willis is also currently the home of Victoria High students as the school undergoes renovations.
Important notice: SJ Willis (Vic High) & Quadra Elementary are currently in lockdown. Police are on-site. We’ll keep you updated. https://t.co/iaMNwryiyt
— Greater Victoria SD (@sd61schools) February 2, 2021
At 12:40, the school district said both facilities have transitioned from lockdown to a ‘hold and secure.’
Police say that officers are in the area and have “responded out of an abundance of caution.” There are currently no reports of injuries.
At approximately 1:15, the school district said the hold and secures had been lifted at both facilities.
As of 2:15 p.m., Victoria Police have indicated that they no longer believe there is a risk to the students or the public.
Our officers remain the area of both schools, but do not believe there is a risk to the students or the wider public. #yyj https://t.co/VvgD585rLH
— Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) February 2, 2021
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Graham Cox
