FALL RIVER: A incident involving a firearm sent Lockview High into a lockdown shortly after the lunch hour on March 2.
The incident sent Halifax District RCMP officers to the scene and had many students—already out for lunch and down at the Tim’s and Dairy Queen—scared and concerned.
Many were spotted calling their parents to inform them they were okay and what was happening. An RCMP officer was at the Tim’s and asked a few students for assistance, showing them something on his cellphone.
RCMP arrested an 18-year-old male a short bit away and have recovered the weapon involved. No one was hurt during the incident.
After ensuring the school was safe, police then got information that there were two people together on the path and one was holding the firearm. Police were able to identify the suspects and contacted them by phone.
The suspects gave their location and police went there, arresting the suspects without incident at a business on Fall River Rd.
Neither person had the firearm but they told police where it could be found. The firearm was recovered with assistance of the Halifax Regional Police K9 Unit.
A home on Fall River Rd. was searched and additional weapons and ammunition were seized.
The 15-year-old youth from Halifax is charged with:
· Unsafe Storage of a Firearm
· Possession of Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose
· Carrying a Concealed Weapon
· Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
· Possession of a Firearm Knowing it is Unauthorized
· Possession of a Restricted or Prohibited Firearm with Ammunition
· Manufacture of a Firearm
Colby Ivan James Chaulk, 18, of Fall River, is charged with:
· Unsafe Storage of a Firearm,
· Possession of Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose
· Carrying Concealed Weapon
· Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
· Unauthorized Possession of a Prohibited Weapon
· Possession of a Firearm Knowing it is Unauthorized
· Possession of a Prohibited Weapon Knowing it is Unauthorized
· Possession of a Restricted or Prohibited Firearm with Ammunition
· Manufacture of a Firearm
Police had tape around the path at Jamieson Drive and had Lockview High’s driveway blocked. Several vehicles were parked on the side of Lockview Road as parents came to pick up their children.
Nearby Ash Lee Jefferson and Georges P. Vanier Junior High were placed in hold & secure while the incident took place.
Both Chaulk and the 15-year-old were held in custody and are scheduled to appear in court today. The youth will appear in Halifax Provincial Youth Court and Chaulk will appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court.
A letter was sent home to parents of students at LHS indicating “information was passed on to them of two individuals were in close proximity to school property, and in possession of a weapon.”
“Administration instantly put the school in lockdown and phoned the RCMP,” said principal Bernie MacEachern in the letter. “They immediately arrived at the school and assisted in securing the building, following HRCE’s lockdown procedures.”
It continued saying the lockdown was lifted after they received word from RCMP that two arrests had been made and the security of the school was confirmed.
“Please be assured that student safety was our number one priority throughout the process,” the letter said. The lockdown and hold & secures were lifted around 2 p.m.
The police investigation is ongoing and being led by the General Investigation Section of the RCMP/HRP Integrated Criminal Investigation Division.
