A hold and secure yesterday afternoon (April 27) at Prince Rupert Middle School has parents wondering why they were not informed until this morning (April 28).

In an email to parents and guardians, Principal Kerri Levelton said the hold and secure was initiated because of an incident in the front office.

“Out of an abundance of caution students were held and secured in their classrooms and the authorities were called,” Levelton wrote.

Cst. Brody Hemrich, a spokesperson for Prince Rupert RCMP, said the incident involved an upset parent.

“He was showing signs of mental distress,” Hemrich said. “Officers attended and de-escalated the situation. Ultimately there was no criminality involved and he was assessed at the hospital.”

No students were involved and students and staff returned to their school day at 2:15 p.m., Levelton wrote.

Jessica Wilhelmsmen, a parent of one child at the school and a member of the Parent Advisory Council, said she was relieved the children were never at risk, but questioned why parents weren’t informed right away.

“I feel that an email should have gone out by 3 p.m. yesterday,” she said.

“I understand they may not have been able to release all the details, but they could have told us about it and said that our children were not in immediate danger.”

The Northern View reached out to the school and school district for comment on why the notification was so late, but no response was available as of press time.

OTHER NEWS:

Vopak and AltaGas combine to evaluate new bulk liquids terminal for Prince Rupert port

Council awards up to $20 M to replace water main from reservoir to Montreal Circle

editor@interior-news.com
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