St. John Vianney students, staff return to school after police situation
Police and the school board say students and staff at St. John Vianney Catholic Elementary School in Windsor's east end can return to the school building after being moved earlier Wednesday morning.
According to Stephen Fields, communications coordinator for the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, the students and staff were moved to a church across the street as a precaution. Police are investigating what they described as an "unsubstantiated threat."
"As a precaution we have moved all of the students and staff [nearby] and will only allow students back into the building when police have assessed the situation and determined that it is safe to enter the building," said Fields in an email Wednesday morning.
Students and staff had been moved to St. John Vianney Parish, where Fields said they were "kept safe and well supervised throughout the duration of this morning's incident."
According to Fields, a police presence will remain on site throughout the remainder of the day as Windsor police continue their investigation.
Fields said there was no need for parents to pick up students but many parents still did.
'Some people in my class were crying'
Some St. John Vianney parents told CBC News they received an automated call from the board advising them of the situation, saying that police were on site investigating.
CBC caught up with Marc Groulx and his son Adrian outside St. John Vianney as Groulx picked up his son. He said he received a call from the school, advising him of a "code yellow."
Groulx said he saw reports on social media which concerned him, so he went to pick up Adrian, who is in Grade 2.
"I was told more or less don't worry, but I wasn't risking anything," said Groulx. "I felt safer coming to pick him up."
Danny Maloney said he received a phone call not from the school, but from his son-in-law to pick up his grandson
Grandson Carter Maxey is a Grade 5 student and said one of the teachers told him it was a code yellow.
"I rushed to [the location] and got with my friends, and then I called my parent who called my grandfather," said Maxey. "I maybe felt a little bit scared but only for a minute. Some people in my class were crying. All of us were trying to calm them down."
Maloney took Maxey home despite saying that everything seemed to be under control by teachers and school staff.
Another parent, John Pocrnic, said things like this happen.
"I wish that this was communicated a bit better," said Pocrnic, adding that his child called from a friend's cell phone. He did not receive an automated call with any information. His son Ryan is in Grade 6.
