A man with a fake gun caused panic in an Ottawa elementary school this morning.
He walked in, pulled the fire alarm and children started filing out thinking it was all a drill. When police arrived at D. Roy Kennedy School, they used a Taser on the suspect.
Frantic parents rushed to the school after hearing about an incident involving a man with a gun
"I was running,” says Say Johnson, as she hugged 4-year-old Sigourney tightly, “and just happened to see the commotion and thought I’d pop in to see what was going on.”
Police say the man, in his 50's, had walked into the school office around 10:35 a.m. with what turned out to be a fake gun. He then pulled the fire alarm. Police were on the scene within minutes.
Inspector Michael Marin speaks for the Ottawa Police, “He was confronted by patrol officers. He was Tasered and arrested without further incident.”
Police don't yet know what the man's motive is or whether he knew anyone in D. Roy Kennedy.
No one was hurt. In fact, all the kids had evacuated the school because of the alarm.
“We all thought it was a normal fire drill,” says Grade 5 student Azaan Hamid.
There was relief the children were safe.
"I found my boys. They're okay, everything is okay,” says Azaan’s mother Sadia, as she escorted both Azaan and older brother Maaz back home.
There was anger over an intruder terrifying their kids.
"A fake gun?” said Midhac Suvaric, as he walked away with his two children in his arms. “You know, I don't understand anymore. They’re four, they're kids. All the crap that’s going on.”
And now questions about how the intruder got in and why the school’s front door wasn’t locked.
“I didn’t know about that,” says Sadia Hamid. She wants to see tighter security measures at her children’s school.
The Ontario government pledged millions last year towards a locked-door policy at all elementary schools after 20 children were killed in Newtown, Connecticut. But D. Roy Kennedy doesn't have the buzzer and lock system.
Walter Piovesan is the Associate Director of Education with the Ottawa Public District School Board, “(It’s up to) the principal and the school community to determine whether they wanted one.” When asked by CTV News what the school decided regarding this matter, Piovesan responded, “Obviously, they said no.”
The Board plans a de-brief following this incident and Piovesan says this issue will be discussed. D. Roy Kennedy is open for classes Friday morning.
Ottawa Police have sent the man they arrested for a psychological assessment. No charges have yet been laid.
