Cowichan Secondary School was briefly placed in hold-and-secure mode Thursday morning after what police say turned out to be an unfounded report of a man pointing a firearm nearby.
A hold-and-secure involves locking exterior doors while school activities proceed as normal.
The report prompted a large police response shortly after 9:15 a.m., when police received a report of a man pointing a firearm in Kin Park, adjacent to the school.
After officers conducted a sweep of the school and began looking for CCTV footage and witnesses, students came forward and admitted they were filming a project that involved using a wooden stick to mimic shooting.
Police said no actual firearms were involved and thanked the students for coming forward.
Acting district superintendent Jeff Rowan said the hold-and-secure measure lasted from about 9:20 a.m. to 9:40 a.m., and workers at the adjacent construction site for a replacement school were also alerted.
Rowan said the hold-and-secure was enacted “out of an abundance of caution.”
The new $86-million Quw’utsun Secondary — which has the First Nations version of Cowichan as its name — is due to open on Feb. 3.
