Kamloops parents left in dark after gun report at school

Rumours swirled on social media among worried and frightened parents in the wake of a lockdown at a Kamloops school last week, trading stories about guns and multiple shooters until the following day when the public learned there was no gun at all.

Norkam Secondary was put into an hours-long lockdown on Nov. 6, but in a vacuum of information, some parents kept their children home the next day.

“There was a big question mark out there. You don’t want to send your children into the line of fire on a question mark,” said Steve, who has two children that attend Norkam.

Even after Friday afternoon’s update from Kamloops RCMP, he felt there were unanswered questions about threats to students and it hasn’t been resolved. He was left in limbo, choosing to keep his children away from the school while neither police nor school officials would confirm publicly whether there was a firearm.

iNFOnews.ca agreed not to publish his last name to protect his children’s privacy.

On Nov. 10, Kamloops RCMP said the report came from within the school and it’s believed to be a prank made by a student who used an unattended phone.

But Steve, like police, treated the report as though it might be real when he first got word.

He got the messages from his family, including his daughter, saying there was a lockdown and possible gunmen, so he dropped everything and headed to Kamloops in a “harrowing” hour-long drive from work.

While he rushed back to the city, police were clearing the school in case the report was real. Students inside were locked in various rooms, checking in with friends and family.

“I started worrying and texting my dad that I loved him and that there was a lockdown, and I did the same with my mom and my grandparents. I texted my little brother asking if he was OK and I told him I love him too,” Steve’s grade 11 daughter said.

She and her friends, all locked in separate rooms throughout the school, then texted each other to make sure they were safe.

It wasn’t until the doors to the school reopened that police updated the public to say there was a reported firearm. Kamloops RCMP didn’t say what came of that report or whether there was a firearm after all.

Checking with her friends the next day, Steve’s daughter heard two classes of around 30 students had less than two-thirds in attendance. It was of some relief, too, while worrying about her grades.

“I didn’t want to go back to school, but I also didn’t want to miss any classes,” she said.

Parent advisory council president Bonnie McBride said parents across the city were left to rely on each other both during the lockdown and after regarding the nature and severity of the threat.

“We know that’s not the best way to make sure parents are well-informed,” she said. “In previous incidents, including the fire at Westmount Elementary, the (advisory council) has been part of the communication plan so we are able to support parents in how they access resources and support their kids. That hasn’t been the case this time.”

Police continue to investigate, but the detachment said there was no “credible evidence” a gun was ever inside the school.

“We’ve certainly had parents reaching out asking us how to support their children, how to get the truth of what really happened, or how to understand if there is an assessment happening about whether any changes in practice need to be made so there’s less risk of another incident like this,” she said.

Whether it was a hoax or an overreaction, McBride said she would expect police to respond just as they did on Thursday, by locking down the school and ensuring safety of students and staff inside. 

“If your children are worried, just point out how quickly the grownups around them put a plan in place to keep everybody safe,” she said. “

The notion was echoed by Steve, who said he would “rather have an overreaction” than too few officers at the scene.

“I’d rather have an overreaction than an underreaction, for sure, with anything concerning a child’s safety,” he said.

Asked about the messaging to parents and the public, a school district spokesperson said it waited for police before commenting on the incident.

“We work closely with the RCMP on these safety situations, and they are the lead agency in the timing and detail of the information that is publicly released. Once the RCMP provided its updated statement this afternoon, the school district posted its messages which were consistent with the RCMP information and send an update to NorKam parents and families,” spokesperson Chelsea Isenor said in an emailed statement.

Kamloops RCMP has not responded to inquiries about why the detachment waited until the next day to confirm there was no firearm in the school.