A major police intervention in a school in Matane forced a preventive confinement in the establishment Tuesday morning.
Police officers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) went to the Matane secondary school, located on avenue Saint-Rédempteur, around 9:15 a.m.
The reasons for the intervention are currently unknown. A local media outlet, MonMatane.com, reports that rumors concerning a weapon in circulation at school were behind the operation.
“The people on site were placed in confinement as a preventive measure,” explained agent Hélène St-Pierre, spokesperson for the SQ, adding that no injuries were reported.
The school administration sent an email to the parents of the students to alert them of the situation. “We asked your children to turn off their ringers [de téléphone]. This measure is part of the protocol requested by the police,” we can read.
On its Facebook page, the City of Matane asked people and motorists to avoid the school area until further notice. She specifies that avenue Saint-Rédempteur is closed to traffic from Cégep de Matane to the intersection of boulevard Père-Lamarche.
More details to come.