Jasper Place High School student injured in campus ‘incident’

A student was injured in an incident at Jasper Place High School on Friday. Students and parents tell CTV News Edmonton it was a stabbing. =

An Edmonton high school student was injured in an on-campus incident on Friday, according to police.

Jasper Place High School and neighbouring St. Francis Xavier Catholic High School were placed on lockdown around 12:15 p.m.

Edmonton Police Service did not provide any other details about the “incident” in which the student was injured, nor their age, gender or condition.

Parents and students at the school told CTV News Edmonton the incident was a stabbing.

Police took one person into custody from near the west-end school.

No one else was hurt.

During a lockdown, doors are locked and students and staff stay quietly in their classrooms with the lights off.

Megan Eelhart says she got a text from her daughter at lunch break about the lockdown.

“She had just messaged me that she was scared,” Eelhart told CTV News Edmonton.

“It sounded like there had been some student-on-student violence, and the school was remaining in lockdown for the safety of all students.”

Eelhart says despite the incident she’s confident the school is safe.

“My kids have been going here for a couple of years, and there hasn’t been an incident,” she commented.

“I do have a lot of faith that the teachers in the administration here know how to handle a situation like this, and I do think that this one was handled quite well.”

A letter to parents from the school says the lockdown ended shortly before 2 p.m.

“I know this incident was upsetting for students. I want to assure you that we take incidents like this very seriously and that student well-being and safety are top priorities,” principal Kim Backs wrote.

“If you feel your child needs additional support, please let the school know. I treat your children as if they are my own, and it is important to me that they are OK.”

Edmonton Public Schools released a statement about the incident on Friday afternoon.

“The division takes incidents like this very seriously and the safety of students and staff is our top priority,” an Edmonton Public Schools spokesperson said.

When the lockdown ended, St. Francis Xavier students resumed classes, while classes at Jasper Place were dismissed for the afternoon.

The incident also interrupted a bike-a-thon at Jasper Place.

The charity event has been rescheduled.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson and Brandon Lynch