Prop rifle for Remembrance Day ceremony sparks lockdown at Langley school

A Langley high school was locked down Friday after a replica rifle to be used in an upcoming Remembrance Day ceremony on campus prompted a police search.

Langley RCMP was called to Walnut Grove Secondary School on reports of a man with a weapon.

Mounties say the initial calls they received said the man “entered the front door and was seen carrying what appeared to be a rifle. The school was immediately locked down and secured while numerous police resources rushed to the school.”

As the search progressed, officers say they learned the man may have been a staff member bringing in the prop for the ceremony on Nov. 11.

“The search of the school continued as other officers arrived, they worked to confirm the report of the rifle being a prop. After several minutes, a decommissioned rifle was located and a staff member responsible for it identified,” RCMP said in a statement.

Police say other schools in the area were also locked down out of “an abundance of caution.”

“Thank you to the staff and students at Walnut Grove Secondary for their quick response. Their ability to remain calm and cooperate allowed a quick efficient response,” Mounties said.

Social media rumours

Langley RCMP Cpl. Craig van Herk says every available unit rushed to Walnut Grove Secondary once reports of the possible weapon came in.

He says police going into the situation didn’t know the weapon was a prop until they got here. They were also seeing reports online alleging an active shooter may have been in the school.

While this ended up not being the case, van Herk admits social media speculation didn’t help the situation.

“In an instance like this, we take it seriously and when social media kicks in and we start getting unconfirmed, wrongful, inaccurate information out there, it makes it very difficult for us to respond and deal with the matter at hand,” he told CityNews, adding reports that shots had been fired were also found to be untrue.

“At no point were there shots fired here. It makes it very difficult, it just adds to the situation when we get things going bigger than they are.”