The presence of a potentially armed individual in the area of Lionel Groulx College, in Sainte-Thérèse, forced the confinement of students and employees of the establishment for approximately four hours on Friday followingnoon. Dozens of patrol officers from various police forces on the North Shore of Montreal have been deployed.
“We have no information to the effect that a suspect would have entered the CEGEP,” said Luc Laroque, chief inspector of the Thérèse-De Blainville Intermunicipal Police Authority (RIPTB), in a melee of hurry.
The RIPTB confirmed that “the premises and people have been secured, that no criminal act has been committed at Collège Lionel-Groulx in the past few hours” and that there have been “no injuries and no arrest”. Law enforcement is still investigating whether an individual was actually armed in the college area.
The occupants of the Cégep began to be evacuated, drop by drop, around 6 p.m. “It was really long, we’re so happy to go out,” exclaimed Léa Prud’homme, a student, leaving college with her friends around 6:30 p.m.
Around 1:35 p.m., the RIPTB received a call concerning a potentially armed individual near the Lionel-Groulx college. The establishment then triggered a “white code”, which means the potential presence of an individual who might have violent behavior.
“You will understand that in the circumstances, no chance was taken,” said Mr. Laroque. In the middle of the followingnoon, the police were inside the college to go through the corridors and each room of the building, whose entrances were blocked, indicated to the To have to Sergent Karine Desaulniers, from the RIPTB.
“It was really chaotic”
“A little before 2 p.m., my daughter called me to tell me that she loves me, and since then she has been very anxious,” said Caroline Prévost, mother of a 17-year-old student, while her daughter had been confined for regarding an hour this followingnoon. She finally left around 7 p.m.
It’s “still reassuring” to know that there was no danger in college, she said, but the event still “terrorized small adults”, she added.
Mr. Laroque might not specify the number of students who were confined, but he claims that there were “more than a hundred”. Shortly following the police were informed of the presence of the suspect, the cégep first encouraged the students to leave, before ordering that they remain inside.
“At least the majority of students were able to get out first,” said Sendie Paola Lynn Paul, a student who left her French class immediately following a message on the intercom launched the “white code”.
“It was really chaotic,” says her friend Aïssata Sy, who was in the same French class as Sendie. “Our teacher told us: ‘You stay confined'”, but the students decided to go out anyway. There were a few minutes of hesitation, but most of the students left.
The safety of CEGEPs called into question
This is the third incident of its kind to occur in a Quebec CEGEP in just over a week. Last Friday, a 19-year-old man was arrested because he wore a bulletproof jacket in front of the Cégep de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The management had ordered the occupants to barricade themselves.
The same day, in the evening, four people were shot on the grounds of Collège Montmorency, which also caused confinement in the establishment, for approximately five hours.
Parents and students met at Collège Lionel-Groulx by The duty are unanimous, they all say that CEGEPs should review their security protocols to avoid further distressing people confined during such events, and to limit misinformation.
“People were saying, at school and on social networks, that there was an active shooter, but it was not true at all,” said Léa Prud’homme, critic of the chaotic atmosphere that reigned at school.
“We can’t believe it happened in Sainte-Thérèse. We see that this kind of event can happen in Laval, in Montreal, but to see it here, it’s really destabilizing, ”launched Aïssata Sy. She also laments that misinformation on social media has contributed to the anxiety of many students inside.
Collège Lionel-Groulx welcomes nearly 6,000 students and has approximately 800 employees.