Man to appear in court after Mount Sentinel threats
By Kyra Hoggan
Police are finally breaking their silence regarding an emergency evacuation of two schools in the Slocan Friday, issuing a press release this afternoon. An 18-year-old man will be appearing in court in Castlegar today.
“On June 23 at 2:30 p.m. the Kootenay Boundary (Nelson Rural RCMP) received a report of a possible threat at the Mt. Sentinel High School, which is situated 20 kms West of Nelson along Hwy #3,” said RCMP media officer Cpl. Dave Tyreman.
“Officers arrived at the scene to find school officials had detained one of the students. After a brief discussion with officials, the student was taken into police custody without incident.
“Our primary focus was to determine the credibility of the information, identifying anyone that should be spoken with immediately, and determining what further actions should be taken. Investigators have determined this threat to be very serious in nature and have determined this was an isolated incident.
“We appreciate that there has been a number of rumours and speculation relating to the investigation, but our lack of public confirmation is not reflective of the investigative efforts taken.
Mount Sentinel High School remained closed Monday. However a release Monday said the school open to staff members but there will be no school for students at Mount Sentinel Secondary School on Tuesday, June 28.
As well, the Silverwood trip has been cancelled.
As for the media blackout, Tyreman said police weren’t initially sure which schools were involved, and didn’t want to tip their hand or goad someone into violent action.
“This was one of those rare cases where we had to keep the information we had extremely confidential, to avoid releasing any information that would alert other potential suspects to the investigation.”
He said they’re not speaking to the exact nature of the threat. This is possibly to avoid copy-cat incidents.
“We want to protect other students in the school, as well as the integrity of the investigation.
“The investigation remains active and ongoing. In coordination with School District #8, support is in place to assist those concerned about the recent events.
“The individual who was taken into police custody is expected to appear in Castlegar Provincial Court later today. Numerous criminal charges are pending.”
The school will be open for a half day on Wednesday, the final day of school for the semester.
School Administration will be working with the Grad Planning Committee to plan a graduation event.
