A gun sighting report near a Winnipeg high school on Tuesday morning triggered safety protocols that briefly restricted access to and from the building, though police cleared the scene within the hour with no threat found.
Gordon Bell High School was placed under a hold and secure at around 11:15 a.m. after Winnipeg Police Service received a call about a male youth walking with what was believed to be a gun in the Honeyman Avenue and Broadway area.
Officers were dispatched to the scene shortly after 11 a.m. and notified school officials, who immediately activated the school’s safety protocols.
A hold and secure differs from a full lockdown. Under this protocol, students and staff continue their regular activities inside the building, but access in and out of the school is restricted until police give the all clear. Classes at Gordon Bell continued as normal throughout the incident.
Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy confirmed in an email that multiple units searched the surrounding area following the report. Officers combed the neighborhood looking for any sign of the individual or the reported weapon, but came up empty.
“Multiple units searched the area with negative results and determined there was no threat to public safety,” Chancy said.
The hold and secure was lifted at approximately 11:40 a.m., roughly 25 minutes after it was put in place. A letter was also sent to the school community informing parents and guardians of what had taken place and confirming the situation had been resolved.
Community Reaction Mixed as Parents and Locals Respond
News of the incident spread quickly on social media, drawing a range of reactions from parents, community members, and residents. One parent whose child attends Gordon Bell said she called the school directly after hearing about the report.
She confirmed the hold and secure had been lifted and that the situation had been contained to the surrounding neighborhood rather than inside the school itself.
Other comments reflected a familiarity with disruptions at the school, with some residents expressing little surprise at the news.
The school, located in the west end of Winnipeg, serves a diverse student population and has at times been the subject of community conversations around safety and resources.
While the reaction online ranged from concern to casual humor, the incident itself was resolved without injury and without any confirmed threat materializing. Police did not announce any arrests or identify a suspect in connection with the original gun report.
Gordon Bell High School has not issued a public statement beyond the letter sent to the school community on Tuesday. The Winnipeg School Division also had not made a formal public comment as of Tuesday evening.
This incident is a reminder of how quickly schools and police must respond to unverified reports in order to protect students and staff, even when those reports ultimately turn out to have no confirmed threat behind them.
The hold and secure protocol is designed precisely for such situations, allowing normal school activity to continue while authorities work to assess and eliminate any potential danger in the surrounding area.
No further police investigation has been announced at this time.
