Calgary police have charged a 15-year-old boy with possession of an imitation weapon for a dangerous purpose after an incident at Ernest Manning High School Friday.
For almost an hour, the school was on lockdown while police investigated a weapons complaint. There was a large police presence, including the Tac team, at the school and a K-9 unit was on scene.
Officers eventually arrested a teen boy and seized an airsoft gun.
Tuesday, students at Ernest Manning High School were still trying to make sense of the frightening experience.
“At the time it was really stressful, really scary, really nerve wracking not knowing what was going on and if our friends were in danger,” Paul Dyjur, an Ernest Manning student, said. “”I wish I knew that nobody was really going to be hurt, because that could have saved me a lot of grief in the beginning when everything seemed like it was going crazy.”
Kim Busch, a counsellor at the Calgary Counselling Centre, said students might still be scared and have anxiety about the incident.
READ MORE: Lockdown at Ernest Manning High School over, airsoft gun seized
Students said their teachers reviewed lockdown procedures and tightened up on rules at the start of this week.
“They want us to stay in our classrooms more. They’re really strict about us going to the bathrooms,” student Marwa Kadri, said.
Calgary police say airsoft and BB guns are designed to look more and more authentic, so they have to treat every situation like the weapon is real.
With files from Global’s Heidi Pearson