WESTLOCK – Twenty-four hours after all three Westlock schools entered “hold and secure” protocols and a handful of downtown businesses, along with the hospital, temporarily locked their doors, Westlock RCMP were still looking for a “suspicious” camo-clad man seen last Wednesday morning around 9:54 a.m. walking on 107th Street towards Highway 44 carrying a backpack that “appeared” to contain a firearm.
The day after the incident, which generated widespread traditional media coverage from outlets across the province in addition to rampant local social media conjecture and speculation, Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird said they exercised an “abundance of caution” before deciding to alert the community of the situation via the Westlock and Area Crime Coalition as they “needed more information on this person as there was the potential for danger.”
That statement, issued before 10:30 a.m. June 15, reads: “Westlock RCMP has received a complaint of a suspicious male dressed entirely in camo carrying a backpack. The RCMP is currently attempting to locate this individual. If this male is seen do not approach and contact the RCMP at 780-349-4492 ext. 2.”
A follow-up e-mail that day from Baird included in the updated story on the Town & Country Today website notes: “Something was seen sticking out of a backpack, but not sure what it was so all schools advised as we had reports of this male in different areas and times. No threats of any kind, schools advised out of caution."
“When we get a report like that and we can’t find the person, we send out the alert in an abundance of caution so we can identify who it is. I know some businesses went to extreme measures and shut down and locked up and that’s their choice to do it … whatever they felt was necessary. But if we thought there was any danger to the community right away, we would have posted it and laid out what we thought the danger was,” said Baird June 16, adding this wasn’t a case of someone being misidentified, or a false report.
“At no time did we ever say the person was a danger or a threat to the community. We wanted to find out what was going on and who he is. As it turns there was no other reported sightings at all after the original call came in.
“We’d still like to talk to the person and find out what was going on just to put closure to it.”
Ultimately, Baird said the man wasn’t doing anything illegal and was just walking down the street so they wanted to find out “what was going on and if there was any community safety issues.”
He said that they’re still investigating, as every report of someone with a firearm is serious, but he has “no concerns for the safety of the community.”
“After the (initial) WACC alert, all the reports that we got were calling in on times previous to the actual original call — we got the first call at 9:50 a.m. and following the alert, all the tips we received were (for sightings) around 8:30 a.m.,” said Baird. “If we had got those calls when people saw him instead of three hours later … ”
All the officers on shift, including Baird, spent time on the streets looking for the man while members of the Westlock Traffic Services and Barrhead RCMP also chipped in as did local community peace officers and provincial sheriffs.
“All law enforcement in the area was aware,” Baird confirmed.
Hold and secure
At 10:25 a.m., Pembina Hills School Division advised via its website, linked to from each school website, that R.F. Staples and Westlock Elementary were in “hold and secure”, a protocol which saw the doors locked and no one from outside let in. St. Mary School later confirmed it too had entered “hold and secure” although neither the SMS or Evergreen Catholic websites or social media accounts noted the event.
The message from Pembina Hills advised parents not to come to the school and pick up their child, stating that staff and students were in no immediate danger as it was “a precautionary measure to ensure their safety” — at 1 p.m. Pembina Hills lifted the “hold and secure.”
Baird said when they couldn’t find the person and due to the proximity to the schools, they advised Westlock Elementary and R.F. Staples first and then St. Mary, although they had received no reports from that area of town.
“So, all the schools were notified of what we were doing and then they could decide for themselves what they wanted to do,” he explained.
The Westlock Healthcare Centre, along with a handful of businesses, also locked their doors which Baird said was their decision entirely.
“And we called over to the hospital (at the end of the event) to let them know what the results were so they could make a decision (to end the lockdown),” he noted.
At 1:30 p.m., WACC advised the situation had ended as the RCMP continued to investigate but “no other complaints or sightings have been received” while at 1:52 p.m., RCMP K Division had issued a release detailing the timeline of the event, noting “it remains unclear what, if any offences were committed, or if there was a risk to the community.”
“Like a prairie grass fire”
While traditional media, including print, TV and radio, reported on the alert, local social media pages were wild with speculation and rumours — Baird lamented that people need to be “more diligent” before posting gossip or blatantly false information that can lead to panic.
And while he appreciates residents want “every single detail” when there’s an evolving situation and many are on edge following recent mass shootings in the U.S., he again pointed to the initial release that stated they were simply looking for the man and there had been no reports of him brandishing the weapon or threatening the public.
“It’s a like a prairie grass fire, it catches and just goes and gets a life of its own,” said Baird. “If there would have been a danger to the public, a WACC alert would have been sent out to detail what was going on and to shelter in place and lock your doors and call in anything suspicious. None of that ever happened.
“But it’s the times we live in. We do have some copycat stuff from south of the border and there’s no predicting when or where that will happen. But at the same time, just because someone is walking down a street doesn’t mean they’re up to no good and that’s why we get paid to go and check it out. If people are concerned about something call us right away and don’t wait. We will go check it out.”
