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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 9, 2008 - 3 Gun report throws Sheridan into lockdown `Better safe than sorry' By David Lea and Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sheridan College's President is taking an `it's better safe than sorry' attitude after a possible false alarm resulted in the lockdown of Sheridan College's Oakville campus for nearly three hours on Friday. The episode began at around 2:18 p.m. when a professor and a number of students spotted a white male in a camouflage jacket carrying what appeared to a shotgun or rifle walking the halls of the school's residential area. College security was notified. They immediately locked down the college and called Halton Police. "When the school goes into lockdown students are asked to remain in their classroom until the police tell them that it is safe to leave the school," said Sgt. Brian Carr, Public Affairs Officer, Halton Police. The lockdown, which has been practiced repeatedly at the college, was chosen as policy in the event of a school shooting because it prevents students from running into the halls and into the path of the would be gunman. Friday's lockdown, however, was no drill. In the moments that followed police tactical units from Halton, Peel and Hamilton descended on Sheridan College and began a systematic search of the campus, which would eventually come up empty. "There is (surveillance) video and if you look at the video there is the possibility that the gun could have been mistaken for a tripod," said Inspector Jackie Gordon. "It looks very similar to a tripod, however, it was difficult to make that call at the time. Erring on the side of caution we used due diligence in making sure that the safety of the students was the most important thing today." Sheridan College President Dr. Robert Turner held a similar view that the very possibility of a gun being on campus was worth taking the steps that followed. "I think this was a false alarm, that is our hope and our expecta- RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER INSIDE LOOKING OUT: Staff and students look outside while waiting for the lockdown at the Sheridan College Oakville Campus to end. DAVID RITCHIE / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER ARMED AND READY: Tactical Rescue Unit members responded to the emergency lockdown at Sheridan College's Oakville campus and conducted an exhaustive search of the facility. tion, but the threat is very real, we take this very seriously," he said. "The safety and security of my students and my staff is of paramount importance to us, so when we have a reasonable expectation that there is the possibility of a weapon here we go into lockdown." Kamar McLeod, 19, was sitting in his banking and wealth management class when he said he saw the alleged gunman walk by. "He had a toque on, he had a dark green camouflage jacket. He was holding an object that looked like a gun," said McLeod, who was reached by cell phone while waiting for the lockdown to end on Friday. "I saw him go by." With the school in lockdown, students who were just arriving at campus only received bits and pieces of information as police told them they were not allowed to enter the buildings. Rumours began to fly of a gunman on campus, that shots had been fired and even that students had been shot. "All we've heard is that the school is on lockdown, nobody's allowed inside, police are on sight," said Mark Robertson. He had come to visit his girlfriend, who at that time was locked down inside the school. "It's hard to know what's going on, but from what I've heard there's a gunman inside the school or something like that." Journalism student Ziyad Khan was also in the dark as to what was happening. "I thought it was just a drill initially," he said. "We've had some drills in the past, last semester we had a couple, but when they said it's not a drill it's a lockdown I knew it was real. Something serious." Students locked out of their residences or who were waiting for friends got to stay in a heated bus courtesy of the Town of Oakville. As the situation continued, media helicopters could be seen circling overhead with a seemingly endless stream of police and emergency vehicles adding to the sense of urgency that hung in the air. Police initially announced the arrest of a person fitting the description of the man seen with the alleged gun, but later said this person had been released after extensive questioning. "We are satisfied that he was not involved in this situation," said Carr. The scene of the school was one of complete opposites -- while columns of tactical unit officers in full SWAT gear, armed with automatic weapons projected a very dark image of what was going on, inside the school locked down students could be seen from some windows smiling and waving to their friends. Students who went through the lockdown process said this strange duality existed inside the school as well. "A lot of the girls were at the front of the classroom, sitting huddled together because it was quite nerve wracking," said Jessie Trott. "Some people were trying to lighten the mood and keep jokes going, but it was pretty dramatic." Another student said that the greatest shock of the whole experience came when the police arrived. "We were in history class when the lockdown thing came on and we didn't really do anything, just sat around until the cops kicked in our door," said David Thomson. See Rumours page 12 PREPARE FOR THE ROAD AHEAD. 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