Students and staff at CEGEP de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, located about 40 kilometers southeast of Montreal, received a message from school officials shortly after 9 a.m. Friday ordering them to barricade themselves in closed rooms and to keep the lights off. Local police arrested a 19-year-old suspect, who police said was wearing a bulletproof vest and acting suspiciously in front of CEGEP, around 10am. A second suspect, a juvenile female, was also questioned, police said. Police spokesman Jérémie Lévesque said no shots were reported and police had no information about firearms or explosives in or near the school. There were no injuries, although a pregnant woman was taken to hospital as a precaution, Lévesque said. The lockdown was lifted shortly after noon on Friday. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu police have called the Sûreté du Québec for support and sniffer dogs are on site. Police evacuated the school classroom by classroom, and Lévesque said they would search bags and vehicles before students and staff left the facility. “We are not ruling out the possibility that there is another suspect,” he said. According to a brief news release, the school said the lockdown order came at the request of the city’s police force. The police created a security perimeter around the school and access to the premises is prohibited. The police operation was completed later in the afternoon. Nathalie Beaudoin, chief executive of CEGEP, said people were being asked to stay away from school. He said all school activities for the day were cancelled.
