

Chris Fox, CP24.com





Police say that six young people are in custody after a group of individuals were reportedly chased by another group who were seen armed with a gun behind a Milton high school.

According to Const. Ryan Anderson, police received a call at around 11:25 a.m. about a foot chase that began behind Bishop Reding Catholic Secondary School and continued through nearby Lions Sports Park and towards the Milton Memorial Arena.

He said that police were told that a group of males armed with a gun were pursuing another group of individuals in the area.

After a brief investigation, Anderson said that police made the decision to place the high school under a lockdown and enter the building. He said that officers took seven young people into custody inside, though one of them has since been released without being charged.

It is not known whether the individuals currently in custody are students at the school. Their identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

“The police placed the school under a lockdown and we went inside to search for the suspects,” Anderson told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “At this time we have recovered one knife and two firearms. One is replica firearm and the other one we have not confirmed whether it is an actual firearm or replica at this point.”

Police later said in a news release that the replica firearm was a pellet gun and that the third weapon was an airsoft rifle that was not related to the same incident.

The lockdown at Bishop Reding Catholic Secondary School was in effect for several hours but was lifted at around 2 p.m. after the suspects were taken into custody.

Students were then released early so investigators could conduct a further search for evidence, Anderson said.

“Any time we are finding weapons inside a school we are very concerned. It is not something we want to see and it is something we take very seriously,” he said.

Two nearby elementary schools, Chris Hadfield Public School and St. Peter Catholic Elementary School, were previously under hold-and-secure orders due to the police investigation but those orders have also been lifted.

Anderson said that police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the reported chase but believe it to be an isolated incident at this point.

No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.