A 35-year-old man was arrested in Beaumont on Monday afternoon after RCMP were called to a “disturbance involving firearms,” which led to two schools being placed on hold and secure.
Police were called to a home in the Beauridge neighbourhood shortly after 1:30 p.m. RCMP said a man was barricaded in a home with a gun. No one else was in the house at the time, police said.
“I can’t go into the details of the call, but of course that’s a very serious concern for us,” said Cpl. Laurel Scott, media relations officer with the RCMP. “We know that this is scary for students, it’s scary for teachers.”
Academie Saint-Andre Academy, Dansereau Meadows School and the Family & Community Support Services Association of Beaumont were placed on “hold and secure,” which meant students and staff were forced to stay indoors while police resolved the situation.
“The schools were close to the neighbourhood and my understanding is there’s a lot of walking paths leading from the schools,” Scott said. “We didn’t want to risk the students going home and being on those paths until we were very sure that we had the situation well contained.”
Police said parents were informed of the situation by the schools.
“We have had updates from the school saying that the kids are calm, they don’t really know what’s going on, they’re watching movies. As long as my son is safe, then I’m OK,” parent Janice Kladas said.
A large crowd had gathered around the school building by about 4:30 p.m. Monday. Kladas said it appeared as though some parents were a bit panicked.
“Not everybody knows what’s going on. You’re hearing all kinds of different rumours about what’s happening. I think everybody just wants to see their kids and take them home and know that they’re safe.”
At around 5 p.m., students from Dansereau Meadows School were led out of the building to the nearby Eaglemont Christian Church. The “controlled student release process” was made at the request of the RCMP, according to a note sent to parents.
Parents and guardians were asked to sign in and show their identification at the church, in order to take their children home.
Members of the Leduc and Beaumont RCMP detachments, as well as the emergency response team and police dog services were called in to assist in the situation, which was resolved shortly after 6 p.m.
Police said no one was injured in the ordeal.
Police did not release any information as to whether charges would be laid. The investigation is ongoing.
Beaumont is located only about five kilometres south of Edmonton.