14-year-old boy in custody after firearms complaint at a Sherwood Park high school: RCMP

RCMP arrested a 14-year-old boy after a report of a handgun at Archbishop Jordan High School.

A 14-year-old boy is in custody after a firearms complaint at a Catholic high school on Thursday afternoon in Sherwood Park, Alta., although police have not laid any charges and are still unsure whether or not the alleged firearm posed any threat.

Strathcona County RCMP said in a news release that there is a heavy police presence at Archbishop Jordan Catholic High School on Emerald Drive.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff told CTV News Edmonton received reports of a male with a handgun at the school around 1:50 p.m.

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All available officers immediately got to the school, which he said was put in lockdown.

One boy, 14, is now in custody and no injuries have been reported.

Savinkoff confirmed Mounties quickly identified and arrested the boy, although he said early investigations don’t indicate he was actually doing anything with the alleged gun.

“We have seized what we believed to be the firearm, and although it’s early at this time, we don’t believe that it was a working firearm,” Savinkoff said.

Mounties said there is no indication of any further threat. They ask everyone to stay away from the school while police are on scene.

Savinkoff added officers are working with school members to get students home for the day. He could not confirm whether or not the school was still in lockdown, adding that the situation is “dynamic.”

More details are set to be released by RCMP if charges are laid or anything else comes to light, Savinkoff said, and warned that even as a joke, situations like these can become a criminal offence.

“The school is not an appropriate place to be showing a real firearm or an imitation thereof,” Savinkoff said.

“It has no place in the school, and it’s easy to understand how those things can be misinterpreted and result in a very intense police response.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Kerry McAthey