Four youths who were questioned after a weapons call at a Nova Scotia high school will not be facing any charges because a pellet gun does not meet the definition of a firearm and because there was no proof they intended to do anything dangerous, according to RCMP.
The incident at Avon View High School in Windsor, N.S., Monday afternoon prompted a 15-minute lockdown, where students and staff were left hiding behind locked doors.
“The bottom line is even toy guns can look like real guns, which can cause people to obviously panic,” Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Marshall told Global News.
“(In) schools especially, it just heightens the panic people can feel and the intense response that comes from that.”
The school’s principal, Paul Hanson, acknowledged the incident was traumatic.
“I understand an event like this is very stressful and concerning. Our school counsellors are available for students who wish to reach out for support,” he wrote in a letter to families Monday evening.
In a Tuesday update, RCMP said they were initially called at 11:50 a.m. on April 3 after a witness saw four young people moving a firearm from the trunk of a car to the passenger compartment. The car was in the high school’s parking lot at the time.
Police received an update “a few minutes later” to say the four people had entered the school and it wasn’t known if they had the firearm with them.
Marshall said that officers arrived at Avon View High School within 10 minutes of the call, and considered the matter to be serious.
“It’s not advisable to have a weapon anywhere, but especially schools,” he said. “We’re going to respond as if it’s a credible threat until we can determine it’s not.”
The school was placed on lockdown, and an officer found the pellet gun inside the car. Meanwhile, other officers went into the school to search for the youths.
“Within a few minutes, RCMP officers, with assistance from school administration, located all four youths. All four were taken to the principal’s office for continued investigation,” the update read.
“RCMP officers then began going classroom to classroom advising that the lockdown was being lifted and that students and staff could return to their normal routines.”
Marshall noted that the pellet gun was never inside the school and none of the youth had made any threats. He said it “all boils down to attempt” and there was no reasonable grounds to prove that the youth had attempted or intended to do anything dangerous.
“The pellet gun does not meet the definition of a firearm under the Criminal Code and as a result, no charges are applicable in this circumstance,” the release added.
Marshall stressed, however, that pellet guns and other replica firearms can look very real and it’s not advisable to bring them to schools.