Mounties say a hoax call warning of pipe bombs and armed individuals forced the evacuation of Riverview High School on Monday.
RCMP Insp. Jonathan White appeared before Riverview councillors on Monday evening, where he provided an update on the situation.
White said someone had called the school around 1 p.m. saying they had just dropped off a student who had several pipe bombs.
“The individual named inside the school would have placed one pipe bomb outside and had two more placed inside the school,” said White.
“The unknown caller stated that they would be outside with several other people with guns waiting for the students to exit the school.”
Students and staff were placed in lockdown while several RCMP officers raced to the high school to contain the scene.
White said no suspects were seen outside, so officers and police dog services worked to clear a safe path to a nearby evacuation site.
The student named by the caller was arrested and taken back to the RCMP detachment, where officers learned he had been a victim in all of this.
“This matter was deemed to be what we call a swatting incident,” said White.
RCMP officers did not locate any devices or weapons, he said, and surveillance footage showed the student did not place anything near or inside the school.
