marc garneau

Chaotic video surfaces of the moment someone spotted a gun at Toronto high school

A new video shows the chaotic moments leading up to a Toronto high school being thrown into lockdown on Thursday, after police received reports of a student with a gun. 

The lockdown occurred at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, near Don Mills Road and Overlea Boulevard. 

The jarring video shows what appears to be students fighting in a gym. One person can be heard repeating "he has a gun, he has a gun," after which students begin exiting the area. 

Police were called around 12:25 p.m., and the school was placed under a lockdown for the safety of staff and students.

"There was information that a gun was seen in the school...I can't comment on the circumstances that led up to the events," Toronto police Insp. Lori Kranenburg told reporters.

"All I can tell you is that we were called here for a person with a gun, that an investigation was commenced and that one student was taken into custody." 

Police did not reveal any other details about the incident, and no charges have been laid. It is also unknown whether the weapon was recovered. 

Nearby Valley Park Middle school was also placed in a brief hold-and-secure, as some students from the high school sought safety there, according to police. 

There were no reported injuries, and the investigation is ongoing. 

"I think it is important to know that this is not a single school board issue," TDSB spokesperson Shari Schwartz-Maltz told reporters on Thursday.

"This is an issue that involves the school board as part of the community and it is going to take a lot of effort, a lot of work, and a lot of action between the school board, all its community partners and all levels of government (to address it)," she said. 

"But that is happening right now. The conversations are happening right now." 


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