A foreign exchange student at Seycove secondary has been arrested after threatening a teacher.
North Vancouver RCMP responded to the school Tuesday morning after the student threatened to “bring a gun to school and do harm to a teacher,” according to Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
“It was reported that a student did bring a firearm to school,” De Jong said. “It’s still under investigation. No gun was observed at any time.”
What happens with the student now isn’t clear. According to the RCMP, the student may face charges but if he is expelled and sent back home overseas, it’s highly unlikely the Crown would proceed, De Jong said.
“If that all happens, Crown will not support a charge of uttering threats and have a warrant for him and have him brought back to Canada. That’s at the extreme end,” he said.
As a matter of policy, the school district does not offer details about a disciplinary action against a student, according to district spokeswoman Deneka Michaud.
“But if something happens where there is a serious, direct threat to either a staff member or another student, we certainly would take that very seriously and expulsion would be something that would be considered,” she said. “If it were an international student, then certainly they’d be sent home.”
The student was not back at school on Wednesday, Michaud said.
Seycove principal Mark James sent a letter home to parents Tuesday informing them about the incident.
“The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority. We have been advised by the RCMP that the school site is safe and it is appropriate for classes to continue on as usual. We will continue to work with them on their investigation and have reminded our students to always report any worrisome behaviour to the school administration,” he said.
Michaud said things were relatively back to normal for the Seycove community by Wednesday.
“Obviously, staff and students are shaken when something serious happens at the school but that, generally speaking, they understand that the proper process was followed and that it was acted upon very quickly and taken seriously. They know that’s reassuring and today is just back to school as usual,” she said.
