Sighting of armed person prompts lockdown of 6 Fredericton schools

Several Fredericton schools were placed in lockdown Thursday after police received a report of an armed person in the area.

Leo Hayes High School, Gibson Neill Elementary, Ecole Les Eclaireurs, Devon Middle School, Devon Park Christian School and Harold Sappier were locked down and police were asking people to stay out of the area.

Fredericton police tweeted that they were able to find the person of interest they were looking for, who was carrying a gun case, but it was deemed not to be a threat.

Police thanked the public for their cooperation during the stressful situation.

Vicki Thorne’s son, Ben is in Grade 9 at Leo Hayes. She says dropped everything and headed straight to the school when he contacted her.

“You get a notification and it’s your son saying the school is in lockdown and there’s men out there with guns,” said Thorne. “So immediately your heart starts to race and you’re not sure whether to get up and run or stay put.”

While waiting for the lockdown to end, she said she was relieved to know he was safe and sound but was anxious to see him again.