Lockdown lifted at Etobicoke school after person reportedly seen with knife following fight nearby
A secondary school in Etobicoke was briefly placed under a lockdown order on Tuesday afternoon as police searched for a person who was spotted with a knife.
Police say that they were first dispatched to Lakeshore Collegiate Institute at around 2:30 p.m. after receiving reports about an individual who was seen with a knife during an altercation that took place off school property.
The lockdown remained in effect until students began being escorted out of the building at around 4 p.m.
“There was some conflicting information at the time on whether or not either of these two persons had entered the school following the altercation,” Acting Duty Inspector Jason Albanese told reporters at the scene. “As a result the school was placed in lockdown. When police arrived on scene we were able to quickly determine that the suspect was not on scene. But we were unable to locate the victim. So the school remained in lockdown until we were able to do a class-by-class search to ensure that the victim wasn't inside suffering from any kind of injuries.”
Albanese said that police have now identified the two people involved in the earlier altercation. One of those individuals is being detained, though it is not clear if they will face any charges.
Albanese described both individuals as roughly school-aged, however he refused to say whether they are students at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute.
“There are no major injuries that we are aware of at this point and we are not looking for anybody that is severely injured,” he said.
Good Samaritan broke up fight
Few details have been released about the circumstances leading up to the altercation.
However, one man who spoke with CP24 said that he saw a male and a female involved in a fight with another male and rushed to break it up.
The individuals left the scene a short time later but the man said that he saw one of them produce a “large” knife with a blade that was about the size of a ruler.
“Basically it was a girl and her boyfriend or whatnot fighting with someone else over a scooter or I don’t know what it was but it became a serious fight,” the man, whose name is Tarek, said. “I just did what I thought was right (in breaking up the fight), my cousin came to help me and that is where it ended.”
The lockdown at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute comes one day after the TDSB held a special meeting to discuss school safety following a number of recent violent incidents, including a fatal shooting outside Woburn Collegiate Institute on Oct. 31.
There was also a stabbing at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute on Nov. 14 that left a Grade 12 student with critical injuries.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.