Rumours of threat at school 'unfounded': RCMP

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Reports of a possible threat at Sussex Regional High School last week had parents worried for their children’s safety but the RCMP says it determined early on there was no credible threat.

Families at the high school were notified Monday about “rumours circulating of a threat” against the school, according to Anglophone School District-South spokesperson Jessica Hanlon.

She said that the RCMP was contacted “out of an abundance of caution” and determined that the threat was not credible, which Hanlon said the district communicated to parents via another email Wednesday.

“The police involvement was from the get-go, as soon as they have any information … RCMP will take any reports of violence very seriously,” said Sgt. Kevin Glode, who said police stayed in contact with school officials.

“On our side we did conduct a pretty in-depth investigation, and we were able to determine those were rumours, I call them ‘unfounded,'” Glode said, clarifying that no evidence of a threat was found.

Terri Smith, of Millbrook in Sussex, has a son enrolled at SRHS and said she found the notice on Monday “to be vague” about the nature of the alleged threat, and didn’t have clarification that the situation was resolved.

She said that after she dropped her son off Tuesday, she reached out to a contact at the school and was told that the threat was not credible. She said she then received the email update Wednesday after 11 a.m.

“It’s about feeling connected,” she said. “Now that I have a better handle … I feel more confident with the fact that he can go to school and not be in danger.”

She said that she knew school staff weren’t “infallible” and trying to do the best they can. But in the absence of information, she said parents tried to confer on social media, where “nobody has any answers.”

The district has “standard protocols” for threats against an individual or school, Hanlon said, adding that this incident was handled accordingly.

Hanlon did not reply to a request for a copy of the relevant protocols or policies, or to a request to speak directly to an administrator at the school or district.

Glode said that there was no safety concern on Monday, or “at any time at all.” He said the police update their partners “as soon as possible.”

“These rumours were escalating,” he said, saying that a reported incident involving a student at the school Friday was unrelated to the alleged threats.

“This has been going on since March 15, and it’s like a wave in the ocean, and it becomes bigger,” he said.

Glode said he went to the school Wednesday to speak to parents, who were worried, which he understood, saying he’s also a parent.

Smith asked why parents were not informed about the threats earlier, or when police determined that the situation was safe.

“The thing for me is, you can never take it back, I’m responsible for his safety in every aspect of his life right now,” Smith said of her son.

“If you don’t have all of the information at your disposal to make the decisions and … you make that wrong choice, it can’t be reversed.”