RCMP investigators are looking into a possible connection between shots fired at two different high schools over the weekend – one in Burnaby and one in Coquitlam.
Byrne Creek Secondary was evacuated early Monday morning after staff found bullet holes in the front entrance of the school.
Burnaby RCMP was called at about 7:45 a.m., and officers on the scene confirmed shots were fired in the area just after midnight on Sunday and not while the school was in session.
“In light of the recent unsettling global incidents, the school district acted with an abundance of caution. Students and staff were immediately diverted to nearby Stride Avenue Community School,” superintendent Gina Niccoli-Moen wrote in a letter to parents.
Students and staff returned to the building at about 10:30 a.m.
A bullet hole was also discovered in a ground-floor window on the side of Centennial Secondary in Coquitlam Monday.
Police say the shot was fired sometime between Friday and Monday morning.
Burnaby and Coquitlam RCMP have had phone calls back and forth to see if the incidents are linked, according to Burnaby RCMP Staff Sgt. Maj. John Buis.
“We don’t know yet, but we’re working with the investigators at Coquitlam detachment to ascertain that,” he said. “Shootings at a school during off hours – we have nothing else just yet, but through our investigative process, that’s one of the things we’d like to know, if they are connected.”
Police were expected to be on scene at Byrne Creek throughout the day as the investigation continued, according to the RCMP who said there is no public safety concern at this time.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Burnaby RCMP at 604-294-7922. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.solvecrime.ca.
