The suspicious individual who forced the confinement of the Lionel-Groulx college on Friday was walking near the school with a toy gun, confirmed the Régie intermunicipale de police Thérèse-De Blainville (RIPTB). A minor, he was met by investigators. A relieving outcome, but CEGEPs should be better prepared for the worst, believes a union.
The police had been notified early Friday afternoon of the presence of a “possibly armed individual” in the Lionel-Groulx college sector. The latter has been identified and “offers its full cooperation to the investigators”, confirmed the RIPTB on Saturday evening.
It is about a minor resident of Sainte-Thérèse who was walking in the streets on the outskirts of the college with a toy gun that could be “easily confused” with a long gun.
The police force reminds that the purchase, transport and handling of a toy that may be similar to a weapon should always be done in a safe manner in public places.
The Thérèse-De Blainville Intermunicipal Police Board
A hundred students and teachers remained barricaded inside the Lionel-Groulx college for nearly four hours, at the request of the police.
After Montmorency College and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu CEGEP, it was the third CEGEP to be confined in a week.
“The guidelines were misunderstood”
“We forgot that it could happen, this kind of situation, and an organization must prepare for the worst,” believes Denis Paquin, president of the Lionel-Groulx college teachers’ union.
Active shooter training was last more than a decade old, according to the union. “There was an update as part of a pedagogical day that goes back a while. But not everyone attended,” says Mr. Paquin. An emergency protocol is also available online, but “it’s hard to find,” he adds.
Consequence: several teachers did not know the meaning of the code white which preceded the alert to the potential active shooter. Such a code is triggered when an individual exhibits aggressive, threatening or violent behavior likely to pose risks to their own safety or that of others.
We used code white, and nobody knew what it was.
Denis Paquin, President of the Lionel-Groulx College Teachers’ Union
“The directives were misunderstood,” laments Denis Paquin.
Indeed, students and teachers were first instructed to confine themselves or evacuate the building to nearby emergency exits. A few minutes later, the order to barricade themselves inside a room was given.
“There are many students and teaching staff who left the college instead of barricading themselves. There was a communication issue,” says Mr. Paquin.
“We would have been headed for danger”
Vincent, who is studying at college, regrets that the first instruction was to evacuate the building. In the cafeteria where he was, all the students rushed to the exit.
“If there had been a real danger outside, like a shooter, we would have been directed towards danger,” he denounces.
The police were able to confirm Saturday evening that the individual who triggered the police operation had never entered the CEGEP.
In order to better prepare teachers, the union is making two main demands: that clear and up-to-date emergency protocols be established and that training be provided on their application.
It would also be relevant to train teachers on good practices to reassure students during confinement, judge Denis Paquin. “We are in a situation of responsibility. How do we react with students who can panic? “, he asks.
The union, however, welcomes the rapid care of students and teachers on leaving college, in particular with psychosocial services.