Police are trying to determine if a threat written on a bathroom wall that led to the evacuation of the University of Victoria’s Cornett Building Friday morning has any connection to a similar incident at Oak Bay High School this week.
Students at the high school were sent home early Wednesday when the threat of a shooting at 2 p.m. that day was found on a bathroom stall door.
As for the UVic threat, Saanich police Det. Sgt. Damian Kowalewich said only that it involved a firearm and police had to take it seriously. The wording of the threat has not been released.
The Cornett Building contains the departments of anthropology, Indigenous studies, psychology, sociology and the office of interdisciplinary academic programs.
Kowalewich said news of the threat was received about 10 a.m., and Saanich officers, Oak Bay police and UVic security determined the building should be evacuated as a precaution. The rest of the campus was still open.
After a search, officers determined the building was safe, he said, adding the threat is now being investigated by the Saanich Police Major Crime Unit.
“Any time that two investigations similar in nature occur in a close geographical proximity, we will always communicate with that neighbouring police agency,” Kowalewich said.
There are no suspects so far in either incident, he said. Police are looking at other cases in Canada involving threats and lockdowns to determine if there is a trend stemming from a social-media movement, Kowalewich said.
“It is important for members of our detective division to be aware of any trends happening nationally,” he said. “I promise that our detectives are looking into every angle.”
There was a significant police presence for a few hours on campus, but only a single police vehicle and one UVic security vehicle remained at the building by about 11:45 a.m. Kowalewich said officers would stay in the area conducting patrols, although likely not for the entire day.
Student Ethan Pauly was one of the people evacuated. He said someone came to the classroom door and led everyone out. “I wouldn’t say I was freaking out or anything.”
Xander Merx said he wasn’t in class at the Cornett Building when the evacuation took place, but hearing about the threat was “a little frightening.”
Aymon Jindani went into the building for a scheduled exam after the threat alert had ended, and said news of the threat is scary “because we still don’t know what happened.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Saanich police at 250-474-4321, Oak Bay police at 250-592-2424, or report anonymously to Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
