GOODFISH - A report of an alleged drive-by shooting in Goodfish (Whitefish) Lake on Tuesday afternoon resulted in two schools in the area taking extra precautions to ensure students were kept safe while the situation unfolded.
At about 2:30 p.m. on March 29, a notice from Pakan Elementary Junior High School in Goodfish Lake was released to the public stating the school was under a "lockdown."
"We have been informed to keep our school under a safe and secure status until we are given the all safe signal from the RCMP," reads the notice, signed by principal Gary Bull.
Students were safe at the school, but were not allowed to leave "for any reason." Parents were asked to stay calm and avoid attending the school until an update was provided.
"We are safe at the current time and ask parents to stay away from the area to avoid confusion and panic. When the lockdown is over we will update further to provide more details," reads the notice.
Shortly after 4 p.m., it was deemed safe for students to be picked up from Pakan School, and buses began transporting students home.
Speaking to the situation on Wednesday via email, Bull explained that at first the school was in a hard lockdown, which is when everyone is out of sight and noise is kept to a minimum.
"We downgraded to a soft lockdown within the school where outside doors and gates to the school grounds are locked but students are allowed an escort to the washroom. We stayed under this protocol until the buses were given the go ahead to come to retrieve students," explained Bull.
"We were largely unaware of what was transpiring other than to secure our school. When we got notice that the incident was away from the school, we were able to communicate to our lead teachers that as long as the students remained in classes for the day, we could relax to a soft lockdown level."
On Wednesday, administration was debriefing staff and students "to minimize any fears," said the principal.
Students were also kept at Ashmont School past their regular pick-up time, confirmed St. Paul Education superintendent Glen Brodziak on Tuesday evening. All students were picked up from Ashmont School by 5 p.m.
"As there was no imminent danger to students and staff at the school, no hold and secure was put in place," noted Brodziak. A number of students from the Goodfish Lake area attend school in Ashmont, with school buses running between the two communities daily.
Sgt. Stephen Nolan of the St. Paul RCMP confirmed that police were called out to a complaint of a drive-by shooting in the Goodfish Lake area on Tuesday. The initial call was received at 1:13 p.m.
"A suspect was arrested and (is) currently being held, pending a Judicial Interim Release hearing," said Nolan, Wednesday morning.
"As members were searching for the suspects, Pakan School... was asked to be placed in a hold and secure until it was safe for the children to be transported home," confirmed Nolan.
