Tri-Cities parents anxious as school threats continue Thursday

For the second day in a row, schools in Coquitlam were targeted with unsubstantiated threats on Thursday.

Thursday was another unsettling day for families in the Tri-Cities.

For the second day in a row, schools in Coquitlam were targeted with unsubstantiated threats, prompting a police response.

While there’s an element of relief there hasn’t been actual violence, some parents are frustrated about the speed of communication.

“Your level of anxiety goes up, and you just don’t know what to do,” said Jon, a parent of two Centennial Secondary School students who asked CTV News not to use his last name. “You feel helpless as a parent.”

Parents like Jon have been locked to their phones since the series of threats at Centennial began last week.

The latest phone threat came Thursday morning at Centennial and at Gleneagle secondary.

The situation reached its peak on Wednesday, with eight schools in the Tri-cities targeted—prompting a large-scale police response to what were ultimately deemed unsubstantiated threats.

“Our daughter’s classroom was told to barricade the door, turn out all the lights and not make any sound,” Jon said of what his child went through on Wednesday. “Another parent, a friend of ours, their daughter’s class was told the same thing and they pushed a fridge in front of their door. So the kids, obviously, are scared. They don’t know what’s going on.”

But Jon says there was a big gap between the hold-and-secure issued at the school—and a notification to parents.

“We got a text message from our daughter at about quarter after 12 yesterday saying they were in lockdown,” said Jon. “We didn’t hear anything from the school until about 2:30 in the afternoon… if a school goes into lockdown, I think parents should be informed immediately.”

As for who is behind the threats to the schools, rumours are spreading online, but little in the way of information on a potential suspect or person of interest has been shared by police.

“We are aware of the information circulating on social media about this investigation,” said Insp. Todd Balaban, Coquitlam RCMP acting officer-in-charge. “We are asking anyone who has information about this investigation to contact Coquitlam RCMP.”

Given the situation, some parents told CTV News they plan to keep their kids home on Friday.