Hold and secure order at Duncan school lifted after RCMP arrest youth allegedly carrying weapon

Cowichan Secondary School is pictured in 2011. (Cowichan Secondary School/Facebook)

Mounties with the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP say no one was injured after a high school in Duncan, B.C., was placed under a hold and secure protocol on Monday morning.

The hold and secure protocol was issued at Cowichan Secondary School around 10:30 a.m. after a youth, who did not have connections with the school, was reportedly spotted chasing another youth with an "edged weapon" on school property, according to RCMP.

When police arrived at the scene, the youth who was reportedly being chased was located by officers, but did not co-operate with investigators, Mounties say.

About an hour later, the suspect youth was seen near the school again, prompting officers to return.

Mounties say they located the youth during this second search and took them into custody.

"Police believe that these two youths are known to each other and that this was an isolated incident and there is no ongoing risk to students or the public," said RCMP in a release Tuesday.

During a hold and secure protocol, all doors and entrances to the school are locked, and staff and students are not allowed to leave the building, according to Cowichan Secondary School.

The hold and secure protocol was initiated, and lifted, on Monday based on advice from the RCMP, according to Cowichan Secondary principal Darcy Hoff.

"We would like to thank all staff and students for their quick action and taking this matter seriously," she said in a statement Monday.

Mounties say the investigation is ongoing, and police are looking to speak with any potential witnesses of the event.

Anyone with information, video or who may have witnessed the incident is asked to call the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP at 250-748-5522.

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