Gun call prompts lockdown
Western Technical-Commercial School, Ursula Franklin Academy and the Student School all share the building. Armed SWAT and police swarm Bloor schools on anniversary of Polytechnique massacre
Parents and students at three high schools in Bloor West Village got a scare Thursday as armed police swarmed their shared building after re- ports a man had been spotted with a gun inside a school entrance.
The lockdown, which went on for five hours, started after police received a call at about 10 a.m. that an armed man had been spotted.
The episode coincided with the 29th anniversary of the worst mass shooting in Canadian history, in which 14 women were shot dead in Montreal.
The three Toronto schools, Western Technical-Commercial School, Ursula Franklin Academy and The Student School, share a building on Evelyn Cres., near Runnymede Rd. and Annette St.
Dozens of police cruisers surrounded the building, and more than100 officers were on site during the lockdown.
A police spokesperson at the scene said members of the Emergency Task Force searched everywhere within the
building, from lockers to the boiler room.
They could be seen filing out of the school in the early afternoon.
The lockdown left parents stranded outside the schools as they waited to receive news about their kids, many of whom texted updates from within the building. When it was over, at close to 3 p.m., parents outside the building were jubilant in their sense of relief.
“In the beginning, we were pretty calm, knowing police was there,” said Grade 10 student Owyn McJannet, who was delighted to find his mother waiting outside. “But then we saw the SWAT people come in, and they were shouting instructions, and it was like next-level stuff. “I got pretty scared.” Kids in the building’s daycare were let out first, shortly after 2.30 p.m., much to the delight of their parents waiting anxiously outside.
“He had quite an adventure today. I’m so happy he’s out and safe,” parent John Hayden said of his 2-year-old son.
There are about 2,000 kids at the building housing the schools, said Anthony Vandyke, principal of Western Tech, and Georgia Gallagher, principal of Ursula Franklin.
The schools run lockdown sessions every year for the students, but it’s something they never want to happen, Gallagher said.
“The students are stressed. They’re upset and want to get out,” she told reporters during the lockdown. “It’s been a tough day for the kids.”
Vandyke said the students were just talking quietly and playing games during the lockdown.
“The investigation is still ongoing, but we thought it was safe to allow students out,” Sgt. Sal Granata at the scene after the lockdown was lifted. “We’re happy everyone is safe.”
Police are relying on video surveillance and witness accounts for their investigation, he said.
No weapon had been recovered at the scene as of Thursday afternoon, Granata said.
During the lockdown, police said a Grade 10 student, who was having trouble breathing, required medical attention. The student, Yusuf Corbacioglu, later told reporters he had felt uneasy and sick and fainted before paramedics took him out for treatment.
“I am OK and it had nothing to do with what was happening,” he said, standing next to his mother.
Alec Freda, an 18-year-old Western Technical student, told the Star that a staff member made an announcement over the PA system in the morning about the lockdown. He was in math class.
“Everyone thought it was just routine,” he told the Star via Facebook during the lockdown. “Now police are in SWAT gear checking classes and going though bags. Honestly, we all feel safe, but we can’t shake the feeling that this can’t be a coincidence being on Dec. 6.”
The date marks the anniversary of the attack at École Polytechnique in Montreal, where 14 women were shot to death and10 others wounded by Marc Lépine in the worst mass shooting in Canada’s history. The date has been held as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women since 1991.
The student said that a second announcement was later made to ask teachers and students to open their classroom door when police knocked.
“Other than that, we’ve been getting a lot of news from social media and texting friends,” he said.
The nearby Stepping Stones Montessori Daycare on Runnymede Rd., was also placed on lockdown as a precaution.
Other schools in the area — Keele Street Public School, Runnymede Public School, Annette Street Public School, Humberside Collegiate Institute and Mountview Alternative Junior School — were put on a hold-and-secure status.
Lockdowns are used when a threat is inside, or very close to, a school. Students are kept in classrooms or other designated spots away from the perceived threat, where access and visibility is minimized. Staff members, responsible for the safety of students, make sure no one leaves these designated areas.
Schools are given a hold-and-secure when there is a threat in the general vicinity of a school, not on or near school property. Outer doors are locked, and no one is able to enter or exit the school. School activity continues inside as usual, but the comings and goings in and out of the building are halted temporarily.
Carlota McAllister, whose son is a student at Western, spent the morning looking for updates along with many worried parents. She said that, while she understands that the police and the school are busy with the lockdown, there should be a way for the school board to send notifications to the people affected.
“I don’t want to bug people, but they tweeted this out over an hour ago, and they’re not saying to keep calm or whether the kids are OK or that no shots were fired. They should be saying that every five minutes,” McAllister told the Star in a phone interview outside the school.
She said that she found out about the lockdown from her ex-husband who saw the police tweet.
At noon, the school board sent an email to parents and guardians with the subject line, “We Are Safe.”
“All students and staff are safe, and police are on site to investigate,” the email reads.
The police designated Runnymede Library at Bloor St. W. and Glendonwynne Rd. as a staging area for parents to meet their children at the end of the lockdown. A handful of TTC buses could be seen on standby.
By midday, many parents had arrived outside the school to check on their kids.
Liz Fursberg, a parent whose 14-year-old son is studying robotics engineering in Grade 9, said she was at work near Bay and College Sts., when she heard the news.
“I immediately took my bike and ran all the way here,” she said outside the school.
Her son kept texting her to let her know that everything is “calm” inside the school, she said.
Police are relying on video surveillance and witness accounts for their investigation