Police say school shootings in the U.S. informed response to Dartmouth High weapons call

The weapon that was brandished at Dartmouth High School last week, prompting a lockdown, was an imitation handgun -- but police didn't know that when they arrived on the scene, and they responded, relying on hard lessons learned from other school shootings.

“Columbine is generally considered the wake-up call,” said Halifax Regional Police Staff Sgt. Mark MacDonald.

Heavily-armed police officers responded to Dartmouth High last week after police say a 15-year-old boy allegedly threatened another youth with what was believed to be a gun.

MacDonald coordinates training for the Halifax Regional Police.

Since 2001, the force has been trained to deal with active-aggressor situations. That was two years after the deadly Columbine shooting in Colorado.

"As a result of Columbine, when we realized, as a police community in general, that there are situations where people don't want to talk, they just want to do as much damage as possible,” MacDonald said. “So, when they fall under that category we are trained, instead of isolating the building and waiting, we are trained to enter and to try to identify and eliminate the threat as soon as possible.”

MacDonald says all HRP officers are trained with the latest techniques and equipment.

“We now have carbines, which are a smaller version of a rifle, better for longer range, better for accuracy,” MacDonald said. “We now have those throughout the city, every police vehicle is equipped with hard body armour, which isn't worn on a daily basis but in the case of a high-risk situation, that is added to our current body armour.”

As for parents, understandably fearful during situations like the one at Dartmouth High, MacDonald says they should stay clear of the scene.

“The advice to parents would be, not to go to the scene,” MacDonald said. “We need to control that scene as much as possible & we need to get resources in and out as quickly as possible. The more traffic, the more foot traffic, the more vehicular traffic (there is), that impedes us.”

Instead, parents are encouraged to go to a designated staging area in order to get up-to-date and accurate information about the developing situation.

A 15-year-old boy is now facing multiple charges in connection with the incident.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace.

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  Halifax Regional Police respond to a weapons complaint at Dartmouth High School on Feb. 20, 2019. The school was placed on lockdown as a result. (George Reeves/CTV Atlantic)

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  "There are situations where people don't want to talk, they just want to do as much damage as possible,” Halifax Regional Police Staff Sgt. Mark MacDonald said. “So, when they fall under that category we are trained, instead of isolating the building and waiting, we are trained to enter and to try to identify and eliminate the threat as soon as possible.”