VICTORIA -- A Victoria-area high school has been evacuated and students are being sent home after police responded to a bomb threat in the school Tuesday morning.
Staff and students at Spectrum Community School fled the building "due to a potential threat," the Greater Victoria School District said in a social media post at 10:45 a.m.
Hundreds of students were standing in the school's field and several police cars were on scene by 11 a.m.
Police say they responded to the bomb threat at roughly 10:20 a.m. and that officers were treating it very seriously.
“We are asking that people stay clear of the area so that we can assess and manage the situation," Saanich police said in a statement.
"We are in the early stages and are working to confirm the veracity of the report."
The nearby Marigold Elementary school was placed under a hold-and-secure order as a precaution.
"Students who are unable to make their own way home will be supervised at Marigold Elementary until a parent or guardian can come and pick them up," the school district said in a statement.
"Third Wave and Garden City busing will operate as usual. Parents wishing to pick up their child(ren) prior to Third Wave’s afternoon drop off, will be able to sign their child out at Marigold Elementary," according to the district.
