Online threats have been made against R.E. Mountain Secondary School in Langley, and police are involved, according to a notice sent to parents on Monday, Feb. 19.
“Out of an abundance of caution, RCMP school liaison officers will be at the school prior to the welcoming bell on Tuesday,” the notice said. “Classes will continue as usual.”
It was issued after school administrators received a report of what was described as “potential online threats connected to the school” on Monday afternoon.
“It is believed that the threats have been made by a member of the school community,” the notice said.
The school and district “followed procedures and notified Langley RCMP and are continuing to work with police in investigating the matter.”
The potential threats “stem from concerning comments made on a private Instagram account not affiliated with the school.”
“As we continue to learn more about this situation, we are reminding families to have conversations with their child about digital citizenship and ensuring that they are following the District’s Student Code of Conduct at school and online. The health and safety of students, staff, and families is our top priority, and we would expect that all students would hold themselves to the same standards. Thank you to all the members of our school community who have come forward to report information.”
In May 2023, R.E. Mountain and the adjacent Peter Ewart Middle School were put under lockdown after messages about a threatened “mass slaughter” circulated on social media.
However, those messages proved to be generic – they didn’t mention any school by name, or even a town or city. Similar incidents had been sparked by messages like those in other areas all across North America.
Cpl. Craig van Herk of the Langley RCMP said that right now, police believe the most recent incident is not connected to any other incidents.
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