Threats made against Bert Church High School and St. Martin de Porres High School Sept. 24, resulted in a police presence at both school and a letter to parents from Rocky View Schools (RVS) Superintendent Greg Luterbach.
"I am writing to advise you of an alleged threat made against Bert Church High School and now is being circulated amongst students and families across the City of (sic) Airdrie," Luterbach's letter read. "Our school administrators are working with the local RCMP, which is investigating the incident."
Two RCMP cruisers could be seen parked outside Bert Church High School around 1 p.m. Sept. 24. At that time, students appeared to enter and leave the building as per usual, and a gym class was being held on the school's back field.
Luterbach's letter did not divulge the nature of the alleged threat, but Airdrie RCMP Media Relations Officer Cpl. Gina Slaney confirmed Sept. 25 the threat was made over social media and suggested a firearm would be brought to the two school campuses.
Slaney said any threat made against a school – or member of a learning community – will be taken seriously, and will necessitate RCMP involvement.
"Making a threat such as this is a very serious offence," she said. "It causes panic with parents, teachers and the police. We want to make sure we determine the origin of this threat and the person who made it is held accountable."
The Cochrane RCMP detachment confirmed a threat was also made to Bow Valley High School over the previous weekend.
"At this time, RCMP is working diligently to determine the origin of these threats," the release stated, adding there was increased police presence around the schools to help ensure there were no incidents.
If you have information regarding this incident, you are asked to contact Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7200 or your local police service. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 online at www.P3Tips.com or by using "P3 Tips" app available through the Google Play or the Apple App Store.
