Suspect in custody after gun call at F.W. Johnson Collegiate

A 13-year-old girl was arrested Friday after a report of a gun at Regina’s F.W. Johnson Collegiate.

According to Lorilee Davies, deputy chief of the Regina Police Service, the school was locked down after multiple calls about a person with a gun inside the building.

“We received a call at about 9:15 of a firearm in the school. Our officers immediately responded and a lockdown was immediately enacted, as well as a secure-the-building (order) for neighbouring schools,” Davies said in a video shared on social media.

“We have no information that any shots were fired, and there were no injuries reported to us.”

Glen Elm, Dr. George Ferguson, Judge Bryant, Henry Braun, St. Catherine and St. Theresa elementary schools were the schools that went into secure-the-building mode.

The lockdown at Johnson was lifted at around 11:30 a.m., shortly after the girl was arrested at a nearby residence. A firearm was found a short time later; it turned out to be an Airsoft gun.

“At the time, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a real firearm and an Airsoft and so we always have to respond as if it were real,” Davies said during a media conference Friday afternoon. “We have to take the threat seriously.”

The secure-the-building order at the elementary schools also was lifted at that time.

Davies explained that officers arrived on the scene within five minutes of the first call that came in. When there were enough officers, they went in to clear the school — despite reports the suspect had left by then.

“We had to be very careful about ensuring the building was searched thoroughly, making sure there was no further danger to people inside the school,” said Davies.

Davies couldn’t say if the suspect was a student at the school and believes the gun wasn’t in the girl’s possession when she was arrested.

As of Friday afternoon, no charges had been laid.

“It’s still really early in the investigation. We have a number of interviews to do, however I can tell you this is a very serious incident (and) there will be significant charges with significant consequences,” said Davies.

Incidents where a full lockdown is put in place at a school are fairly rare in Regina, according to Davies.

“We train for them all the time. We want to make sure should one occur that we are ready to respond as quickly and as efficiently as possible. The secure-the-buildings, we do see more of those, and those are more of a precaution — maybe there’s something happening in the area (that’s) not specific to the school,” she said.

Students weren’t sent home for the day by the school division. Counsellors were on hand to offer services to students and staff if required.

Davies said police would work with the school to see what officers’ presence at the school would look like in the days to come.

She noted the police service’s school resource officers train with administration to determine what to do in such situations. Those officers also build relationships with students and staff which can allow the officers to deal proactively with incidents.

“That (training) clearly played a part today in ensuring that we were able to keep people safe,” Davies said early Friday afternoon.

“In terms of prevention, our school resource officers are an important asset to the schools, not only being there when an incident like this arises but also (creating) an opportunity to engage with students (and) engage with teachers to figure out, ‘Is there something that’s happening in terms of concerning behaviour with students that we might want to have a conversation with them?’ ”

Update: Suspect in custody following incident at East Regina High School

Deputy Chief @RpsLorilee provides more details in this video. @RegPublicSchool @FWJohnsonRegina @RCSD_No81 pic.twitter.com/oTZu1kvYoU

— Regina Police (@reginapolice) September 23, 2022