With the La Loche school shooting on Canadian parents’ minds, administrators from both the Flin Flon and Creighton school divisions say measures have been implemented in recent years to help prevent such a tragedy from occurring locally, and to respond swiftly if a crisis should occur.
After the tragic shooting at Dene High School in La Loche, SK on Friday afternoon, a 17-year-old male has been charged with four counts of first degree murder, seven counts of attempted murder and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
According to a Saskatchewan RCMP report, the teenager was taken into custody at 1:15 pm, shortly after the RCMP received phone calls from teachers and students, but after much damage had already been done.
At the school, a teacher and teacher’s aide died from injuries sustained in the shooting. Several others were injured.
Two youth were also killed at a separate residence the same day.
Risk assessment
Sympathetic responses from political and community leaders rolled across news feeds all weekend, but perhaps no response was as important as the alert sent to schools across the country from the Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response.
CCATR is a national training organization that teaches school staff how to prevent threats to school safety and prepare crisis response protocols.
In an alert received by both local school divisions, CCATR noted that the La Loche tragedy is the most high-profile incident in a Canadian high school since the 1999 school shooting in Taber, Alberta.
“We now have a national critical period,” the alert read, “for both increased threats to duplicate the crime as well as a critical period for an increase in trauma symptoms, not just at ground zero but in many schools and communities across the country.”
Both Creighton and Flin Flon school divisions have taken part in CCATR violence threat risk assessment training (VTRA) sessions in recent years.
“Given the La Loche situation there has been a review of all these things this morning, with correspondence sent out to counsellors and administration,” said Blaine Veitch, superintendent of the Flin Flon School Division (FFSD).
Veitch said the school division has a threat assessment protocol in place, based on CCATR best practices. Staff members use the protocols to assess behaviours – which can range from worrisome to high-risk – and determine the appropriate response.
“No one goes from zero risk to violent,” explained Bob Smith, director of education for Creighton School Division, quoting the CCATR alert. “There are always indicators. [VTRA] trains you to be looking for what those indicators are, and if you see anything, what you should do about it.”
Smith recalled an incident he had experienced when working as a principal in Alberta after the Taber shooting.
“I had a student say, ‘So-and-so threatened to blow my brains out,’” Smith said. While almost certain the accused student wouldn’t take violent action, Smith said responding appropriately was essential. He called the RCMP and brought the student into his office, and the student was connected with a mental health worker to address the issues that prompted his threat.
Smith noted that Creighton Community School administrators and counsellors would be taking part in level 2 VTRA training in March.
Lockdown protocols
Veitch said each school in the Flin Flon School Division has an emergency plan that is reviewed annually.
“We do have procedures for lockdown and containment of students if required,” he explained, noting that these procedures are practised at least twice a year.
Veitch says the Flin Flon RCMP reviews the schools’ lockdown procedures and has also assessed school buildings and developed a plan to react in a crisis situation.
Smith said Creighton Community School also has a lockdown procedure.
“It is usually initiated by someone coming on the PA system, following protocols that have been set,” Smith said, noting that all teachers have information on these protocols.
Smith said classroom door locks were changed recently, so that teachers can lock their classrooms from the inside in case of an emergency.
Smith said a lockdown was enacted just last week after a passing truck hit several staff vehicles. A number of students saw the incident from the window.
Smith said there were no major injuries from the incident, but the lockdown was initiated “to give the RCMP the opportunity to investigate.”
Both Smith and Veitch encouraged parents to stay tuned in to their children at this time, and to access supports within the schools and the health care system.
“If parents have concerns, make sure they contact their teachers, school administrators or school counsellors,” said Veitch.
