Don't believe everything you read in social media, says the Coquitlam RCMP, after an unconfirmed report of a man carrying a knife near local schools frightened parents and local children.
"Somebody put out a tweet that there was a man with a knife running around," said Cpl. Mike McLaughlin, who said both School District 43 and the RCMP worked together to confirm the information while also asking area schools to lock their doors and letting parents know via text their children were safe.
McLaughlin said the report came in about 2 p.m.Tuesday and police quickly established a search perimeter using 12 police officers and a search dog to comb the area.
"We never found anybody with a knife," he said. "Our operating conclusion is there was no confirmed threat."
The schools affected were Baker Drive elementary, Hillcrest middle, Dr. Charles Best secondary and Children of Integrity Montessori. And an hour after the alert to schools, at about 3 p.m., they unlocked their doors and, because it was the end of the school day, students were allowed to leave.
But many parents weren't reassured because of the threat information that was disseminated quickly on social media, McLaughlin said, and he advised families to follow the RCMP on Twitter (@cqrcmp) to get timely and correct information.
"Our job is to try and get the facts right and get them out as quickly as possible and dial down the hysteria," he said, noting that police won't report a weapon but will only describe the person is "suspicious" until the details are confirmed. "Our first priority is to keep people safe and the other priority is to keep our heads."
Although police don't believe the information was a hoax, McLaughlin warned that intentionally misleading police with false information, such as fake bomb threats, can carry severe consequences.
