Airdrie RCMP cleared the scene at Herons Crossing School following a false alarm of a man wielding a knife in Williamstown on Nov. 24.
According to Cpl. Gina Slaney with Airdrie RCMP, the report came in at 11:31 a.m. and RCMP soon after attended the school, along with support from Calgary law enforcement.
She added a screenshot from the complainant's doorbell camera was posted on Facebook and created quite a stir online, but that in the end it was "totally a non-event."
"If you look at the picture, it looks like the man is wielding a large knife, but further investigation revealed that he was a salesman and he was putting flyers in the doors," she said. "Just the angle from the camera seriously looked like a knife.
"It was definitely not what it appeared to be. We're all standing down, we had help come from Calgary and the dog on the way, but we got to the bottom of it before we found the poor salesman."
Slaney added while school staff and RCMP were on high alert following the report, the school was not officially locked down. Instead, Herons Crossing was put under hold and secure status.
She added a lockdown is implemented when there is a threat deemed inside the building.
"If someone came through the front doors of the school and had a knife and was running up and down the hallway with a knife, that's when we would call a lockdown," she said. "It means the threat is inside the school."
Instead, Airdrie RCMP implemented a "hold and secure," which is when a potential threat is found outside the building.
"It happened across the street, or a block away, so we called a hold and secure," she said. "And what happens then is all the exterior doors are locked so nobody can get in."
Slaney added classrooms carried on as usual without interruption following the report, which was deemed a false alarm at approximately 12:35 p.m.
Rocky View Schools staff couldn't be immediately reached for comment following the incident.
Carmen Cundy, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy
