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Firearm seized from arrested Riverview student's home was pellet gun, RCMP say

Firearm seized from arrested Riverview student's home was pellet gun, RCMP say

A 15-year-old boy was arrested near Riverview High School on Thursday after reports someone with a firearm threatened a student in a school washroom.

Police later seized an airsoft pistol they believe was involved in the incident, said Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh , a spokesperson for the RCMP.

She described it as a pellet gun and didn't say whether it was loaded when police seized it from the teen's home.

"It's still considered to be a type of firearm because it can still inflict injuries," Rogers-Marsh said Friday.

The Riverview teen, a student at the school, was not arrested on school property, police said. No charges were laid, but the teen was released on a promise to appear in Moncton provincial court on May 23.

The student won't be allowed back in the school building until a security assessment is done, officials said.

No shots

The firearm report early in the afternoon forced the school into a hold and secure, which means entrances to the building were sealed but students could still move around inside.

"No one was injured during the incident … there were no shots fired," Rogers-Marsh said.

RCMP are still investigating why the teen had the gun and they are in communication with the school.

"This was a very serious incident and our police officers would've responded appropriately to this type of call," Rogers Marsh said.

A district official said that during the lunch break, a student and teacher came to the office and said someone had pointed a gun in the student's direction.

The school was placed in a hold and secure once the administration discovered the student who allegedly had the firearm was no longer in the building, said Gregg Ingersoll, superintendent for the Anglophone East School District. This was to make sure he couldn't get back inside.

"Usually when there's a hold and secure there's a threat somewhere outside in the community," Ingersoll said.

"The challenge with something happening like this at lunchtime is you've got 1,100 students all over the place. Some are on their way home, some are on their way back to school, some are outside going for a walk."

Will do risk assessment

Ingersoll said a team of professionals from the high school, district and the RCMP will be doing a "violent threat risk assessment" to see whether the student who was arrested represented a high, medium or low-level threat to the school.

A low-level risk would describe someone who made a threat but didn't have the intention or means to carry it out. A medium-level risk would apply to someone who made a threat but didn't have the means to carry it out.

For a high-level risk, a person would have to have the means and tools to carry out the threat.

Counsellors were on hand Friday to speak with Riverview High School staff and students about what happened, Ingersoll said.

Close to home

"It can be very traumatic if you're the person responsible for a group of people … especially in light of what's gone on in the United States," he said.

"Also, our history here in Moncton since 2014 — the city was basically shut down for a few days, and that's not too far from people's minds."

Ingersoll was referring to the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14 that left 17 people dead. He was also referring to the Moncton shootings in June 2014 that three RCMP officers dead.

He said he was pleased with the way the Riverview administration and students responded to the situation.

Safety the priority

"When this information came to administration yesterday, they really didn't know what they were dealing with," Ingersoll said.

"The immediate thing is to get everybody safe."

Heather Stordy, a spokesperson for the Anglophone East School District, said the hold and secure lasted from 1:07 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Students and staff resumed normal activities when the hold and secure ended.