MONASTERY: An incident at East Antigonish Education Centre earlier this week that led to Hold-and-Secure procedures resulted in one student being arrested and charged.
Deanna Gillis, the coordinator of communications for the Strait Regional Centre for Education (SRCE), confirmed with The Reporter today that as a result of a serious behavioural incident involving a student yesterday morning, the Hold-and-Secure of the school, with restricted access, was implemented in accordance with the School Emergency Management Plan.
As a result of the behavioural incident, 911 was contacted and the local RCMP, volunteer fire department and EHS responded to the school, Gillis said.
“During the incident, the fire alarm was activated and two fire extinguishers were discharged in the hallway of the second floor that resulted in the release of ABC dry chemical fire extinguishing agent,” Gillis said. “First responders were present and responded accordingly. Although the fire alarm was activated, there was no fire at any time.”
As a result of the incident, an early dismissal was issued for students yesterday, and in order to conduct a full cleaning of the impacted areas of the school, Gillis noted that the building was closed to all students and staff today.
“The incident is being taken very seriously by both the RCMP and the school administration in accordance with the Provincial School Code of Conduct Policy,” Gillis said. “Students and staff are to be commended for their excellent cooperation during the situation. We also extend thanks to our local RCMP, Fire Department, and EHS partners for their response and support.”
Following the incident, Gillis said school administration sent communication to families advising them of the incident and actions taken.
“The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority,” Gillis said. “And we will continue to work collaboratively with all SRCE schools to ensure that our students and staff are in safe and secure learning environments.”
While the SRCE described the situation as a “serious behavioural incident,” and the only information provided was that the fire alarm was activated and two fire extinguishers were discharged, the RCMP confirmed with The Reporter the student was arrested.
“At 11:53 a.m. yesterday, police responded to a 911 call from an employee of the East Antigonish Education Centre, regarding an incident involving a youth that was ongoing,” Sgt. Andrew Joyce, an RCMP public information officer said. “A male youth was arrested on scene for assault and mischief, the investigation is ongoing. There were no reported injuries in this incident.”
After reports of the incident began to circulate on social media, The Reporter learned of another incident, on March 9 at the school, that also required communication to be sent home to families.
“For your information, there was a behavioural incident involving one of our students that took place at school today during afternoon dismissal,” East Antigonish Principal Paul Brown said in the correspondence. “The incident was witnessed by some of our students.”
When asked if the behavioural incidents were connected, Gillis added they were two separate incidents.
“There was a separate behavioural incident involving another student that took place at East Antigonish Education Centre on Wednesday,” she added. “There was no school emergency procedure required to be implemented in this incident.”