Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Another unusual day for students at Ecole de la Magdeleine, which has been the subject of firearms threats on social media since the start of the summer: at least 80 teachers refused to teach Wednesday morning. They ask management for more transparency and a clear plan to reassure students and manage police interventions.
In June, the secondary school located in La Prairie had been evacuated twice in three days due to threats broadcast on social networks.
The scenario repeated itself last Thursday and Tuesday. “That’s four times. Each time, we are told that everything is settled and that the threat is unfounded. We are just wondering when is the next time, ”laments a member of staff who requested anonymity.
Threats made on social networks are at the origin of these repeated police interventions, which are the subject of an investigation. So far, no one has been arrested.
“We are going to shoot you all”, “We are going to make a school shooting “: this is what the students questioned by The Press Wednesday morning reported having read in the comments of a mysterious Instagram account that bore the name of the Magdeleine school.
The page was deleted on Tuesday, according to information provided to us by the police. The administrator, a student of the establishment arrested by the police during the day, would not be the person who made the threats.
The students interviewed by The Press talk about a conflict between two groups of students. “Students have been bickering over racial slurs for quite some time. It really created a kind of war, ”says a student.
Confined in the classroom
Last Thursday, students and teachers were confined to classrooms for five hours, say students and teachers interviewed by The Press. The school was then evacuated, but the students came out “stressed and anxious”, describes a teacher who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. Everything was disorganized and chaotic, he says. “Students had to urinate in the bins because we couldn’t get out. The students were really shocked by this. »
On Wednesday morning, shortly before the start of classes, 80 teachers announced their refusal to work. Administrative staff have been called in to help run the classes.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The police evacuated the Magdeleine school last Thursday.
“The threat was completely lifted. We would not allow a return to normal if there was still a danger, ”assures Kathlyn Morel, the director general of the Center de services scolaire des
Grandes-Seigneuries (CSSDGS).
Mme Morel says she gave staff information that could be passed on without harming the ongoing investigation. “When there is an emergency, what can be transmitted is limited. The police ask us not to release all the information. »
Parrynts worriedis
“Well, again,” said the mother of two students with a sigh, present on Wednesday morning to drop off her two daughters. Although she does not believe the threats are true, she hopes to have more information about the person arrested by the police last week in connection with the evacuation.
“Even when it’s false, there have to be consequences and we have to be made aware. I would like the students to be informed and know that this is unacceptable so that it stops once and for all. »
“When young people commit misdeeds with such great impacts, the situation is taken care of,” explains the director, without wanting to comment on a specific case.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Students in front of the Magdeleine school
“We are many stunned parents. We want our children to be safe,” says the father of a boy who attends school. He requested anonymity so as not to get in trouble with management.
While awaiting a possible arrest, he hopes the school takes the threat seriously. We hear several stories of young people with guns, rivalry between schools and tensions among groups of teenagers in the news, he points out.
What I find deplorable is that young people are confined to a classroom for five hours and then they are told that everything is fine without knowing whether there have been any arrests or whether it was serious.
Father of a student from the Magdeleine school, who requested anonymity
The father of another teenager attending the school goes further, claiming that security measures in schools are insufficient. “In a climate like this, we should at least search the students’ bags. There have been threats four times. »
“For the moment, we believe that these threats are not at all related to a conflict. To this day, we don’t even know if it was someone from the school who published the remarks, ”nudes Kathlyn Morel.
The school administration had planned a meeting this week between the students and the police to explain to the young people the issues and the consequences of such threats.
An additional effort will be made to raise awareness among young people about conflicts on social networks, insists the director. “When you use social networks, it can get out of hand. That’s what we need to raise awareness among our young people. »