British Columbia

Weapon reported at Vancouver high school was prop axe for school project, police say

Police were called to a school in East Vancouver for the second time in less than 24 hours after officers said they received reports of a person with a weapon.

Killarney Secondary was locked down over report of armed person, 1 day after bear spray set off in halls

Students gather outside Killarney Secondary school in East Vancouver following a lockdown on Thursday, June 16, 2022. The backs of three students standing on a sidewalk beneath a leafy green tree can be seen in the foreground.
Students gather outside Killarney Secondary school in East Vancouver following a lockdown on June 16, 2022. Police responded to calls of an armed person in the building, but no one was located during a search. (Mike Zimmer/CBC)

Update: On June 17 at 1:13 p.m. PT, the Vancouver Police Department tweeted that investigators had determined the reported weapon was a prop axe being carried by a student for a school project.

Police were called to a school in East Vancouver for the second time in less than 24 hours after officers said they received reports of a person with a weapon.

The Vancouver Police Department issued a statement on Twitter Thursday, saying Killarney Secondary School, which has about 2,000 students, was put on lockdown as the Emergency Response Team conducted a room-by-room search.

The VPD said that after a two-hour search, no armed person was located and no one was hurt.

The report comes one day after an incident in which bear spray was set off at the same school, directly affecting 20 students and forcing an evacuation. 

VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison told reporters it appears a teenager who is not a Killarney student entered the school with the intent of assaulting a student. At some point during that encounter, the bear spray was set off.

Firefighters and paramedics decontaminated those who had been sprayed, while some students were taken to hospital as a precaution.

The suspect has not been located and no arrests have been made.

With files from CBC News