Police, school officials receive what they consider non-credible threat regarding gun in school

Police and school officials on P.E.I. say they received an anonymous tip that someone was planning to bring a firearm to a school.

The RCMP said the threat is not considered to be credible. They received the tip late Friday afternoon. No specific school or person was mentioned, only that it would be a school on P.E.I.

Officials saidschools will remain open on Monday, but they understand parents may be concerned.

"We feel our schools are safe and as such will be open tomorrow and it will be a regular school day," said Bethany MacLeod, the deputy minister of education.

"We felt it was important to get this information out to help parents decide if they want to send their children to school tomorrow."

No suspects

The P.E.I. government took the unusual step of holding a Sunday evening news conference to alert the public.

RCMPStaff Sgt.Kevin Bailliesaid law enforcement agencies on P.E.I. have been working together all weekend speaking to teachers, principals and other individuals.He said police contacted every school in the province to see if there were any incidents that may have raised suspicions, but came up empty.

There are no suspects.

"We haven't turned up any information to suggest that this threat was at all credible," he said.

Baillie said there may have been a disgruntled person saying they would bring a gun to school, and someone else overheard it without understanding the context and felt concerned enough to alert law enforcement.

Investigation continuing

Nonetheless, Baillie said police take all threats seriously, andthe investigation is ongoing. Schools can expect a larger police presence in their neighbourhoods in the coming days.

While bringing a firearm to school would result in charges, so too would passing on false information, Baillie said. He said it has caused concern and anxiety for a lot of people this weekend.

"To anybody who would do something like this, really think about the impact you're going to have on a lot of people in the province," he said.