West Shore RCMP has identified multiple suspects in the Feb. 26 graffiti incident that saw a threatening message written on a door at Colwood elementary.
Const. Jonathan McKinney said the matter is still under investigation and charges are pending.
Several independent sources indicated that the message read, “school shooting today.”
School District 62 confirmed at the time of the incident that the graffiti contained a threatening message. The school was not placed in a lockdown situation as a result.
In a letter addressed to parents and guardians, superintendent Jim Cambridge said as an extra precaution ,students would remain inside the school during recess and lunch. His letter went on to say there was no ownership or authorship included with the threat, which generally “denotes a lack of commitment.”
Police and additional District staff maintained a significant presence at the school for the rest of the day.
A District spokesperson said West Shore RCMP had one suspect in custody on the day of the incident.
McKinney credits an Island-wide information sharing system that contains photos of graffiti and tags for identifying the suspects in the Colwood case. While there has been a recent spike in incidents, the total number is less than 20 a year.
McKinney asked the public to report any suspicious activity on school grounds. “They’re probably not going to play basketball.” He added statistics show the people doing graffiti are predominantly younger.
-with files from Katherine Engqvist
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com