A 15-year-old has been arrested and released with conditions after a knife-wielding incident sent a Nanaimo school into a “hold and secure” on Monday.
The large knife was unsheathed after an altercation between several youth at Nanaimo District Secondary School around 11 a.m., Nanaimo RCMP said Tuesday. No one was injured and the hold and secure — a precaution in which outer doors are locked but classes continue normally — lasted less than 15 minutes.
“A teacher called 911 to report an altercation between several youths and another youth who was not enrolled at the school,” states a news release from the Mounties.
“A teacher intervened before the incident could escalate further. The suspect youth then fled and his immediate location was unknown.”
The encounter was filmed and shared with local media.
A video obtained by Global News appears to show the suspect, clad in a black hoodie with most of his face obscured by black cloth, holding the knife as a confrontation takes place with other students. The youth can then be seen sheathing the knife, after which two other youths attack him.
A teacher then appears to intervene, breaking up the fight. The youth then appears to take the knife out briefly, before re-sheathing it, and jogging out of the school at the urging of another student, whose voice can be heard on camera, shouting, “Just go, go! Run, run!”
Once the suspect fled, school staff initiated the hold and secure, police said. About 30 minutes later, a teen was arrested without incident.
Nanaimo RCMP said police dogs also found a knife nearby, believed to be the one involved in the altercation.
Police are pursuing a charge of assault with a weapon, said Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien, but the teen has not yet been charged. The suspect was released into the custody of his parents and is expected to appear in court on July 6.