15-year-old charged after imitation firearm found at Saint John school

Saint John police have charged a 15-year-old boy following an incident that forced a Saint John-area school into lockdown Friday.

In a release, police say they responded to a call about an armed person at Simonds High School on Hickey Road around 11:15 a.m.

The release said it was reported that a student had a loaded gun in the school.

“Police responded accordingly by immediately entering and searching the building for the suspect,” it said.

The school was placed on lockdown while officers conducted their search and contained the area. A plainclothes officer ended up spotting the suspect running from the area while they were conducting surveillance on the outside perimeter, the release said.

The teenager was arrested at 12:07 p.m. and an imitation firearm was found close by.

He was charged with possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace and was released to his guardians on an undertaking with conditions to appear in court on June 1.

“The Saint John Police Force would like to thank the public, parents and school officials for their patience and cooperation,” the release said.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

Simonds High School is about eight kilometres northeast of downtown Saint John.

— with files from The Canadian Press