Lockdowns end at 2 Brandon schools after possibly armed people fight outside

Two schools in Brandon, Man., are out of lockdown Tuesdayafter two people who police said may have beenarmed with guns were seen fighting nearby.

Police were called to Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School on First Street and Maryland Avenue around 10 a.m., said Brandon Police Service Sgt. Kirby Sararas, a public information officer.

The nearby Maryland Park Schoola kindergarten to Grade 8 school also went into lockdown as a precaution after police notified the Brandon School Division of the incident,superintendent and chief executive officer Mathew Gustafsonsaid in a statement posted onlineTuesday.

In an update posted on Tuesday, the Brandon Police Service said officersinitially responded to a call about a disturbance around 10 a.m. on Cornwallis Crescent, which is near the two schools.

When they arrived, police learned several people had left a home there and may have had guns, the update said. That's when police told the two schools to take precautions.

Two people were arrested, but Brandon police officers and RCMP continued to search Crocus Plainsas a precaution in case anyone else was involved with the fight and wasarmed, Sararas said.

Earlier in the day, she said that police didn't have "any information that there is anybody inside Crocus with a firearm, but better be safe than sorry."

Sararaswouldn't say whowas arrested and what they're being charged with, or if there are any injuries associated with the fight.

"Once this is cleared, then our investigators are going to have to spend some time digging deeper into the details and the order of how things transpired," she said.

Meanwhile, staff at the schools moved more than 1,900 people into a secure environment and diverted bus routes from the area, Gustafson said. Emergency protocols were also activated.

Sararas said allavailable police units went to Crocus Plains,with the number of officers there reflecting the size of the building, she said.

"A school this size requires a lot of members to clear it safely, so every available section ishere toeffectively search a building of this size."

When they received the initial report, police had no information to suggest the people who left theCornwallis Crescent home were in either school or headed to either building. But shortly after that,a second call came in telling policeone of the people mightbe inside Crocus Plains.

Officers searched the school for safety reasons, though it appearsthe tip about someone being in the school wasn't accurate, the police service's update said.

Lockdowns ended at both schools after police told staff they had resolved the matter at 11:35 a.m., Gustafson's statement said.

Staff kept monitoringentry and exit points, though students were allowed to leave the school at that point.

Gustafson said he hopes parents, guardians, students and staff understand why those steps were taken, and have confidence"in the continued focus on safety, the close communication between police and schools, the timely response, and the communication demonstrated in this incident."

He said while he understands moving into a lockdown can be difficult, the school division takes incidents like the one on Tuesday seriously and will do what's needed to ensure safety.

For family members of students outside of the school, the lack of information earlier on Tuesdaywastroubling.

"Nobody's saying anything, and the radio, they don't know anything, and people just keep driving by here, and it's crazy," saidmother Lenore Ernest, who was waiting in her car outside the school for her child, a Grade 11 student, to come out.

"It is very scary. We have children in there."