Two students arrested in Saint-Laurent following Virginia Tech drama

"It is sure that the day following a shooting in an American school, one wonders why they did that, to walk with a weapon," questioned student Élyse Turner who, while talking with a friend on a park bench in front of the CEGEP, felt that even though the incident occurred at her school, it did not alarm her. "It was a false alarm."

Her friend, Marilou Ménard, was in class at the time of the police operation. "I was not informed what occurred until I left the CEGEP,” she said. “Then, I saw all the police cars that were at the residence."

According to Lacoursière, the two young people will be charged with disturbing the peace. "One is a juvenile and the other is an adult,” he said, noting that the operation finished towards 2:30 p.m. “One of them is also accused of possession of a weapon with a dangerous intention."

Bourque noted that classes were not affected because of the operation, which was limited to the residence and quickly taken charge of by the police. The students were apprehended at the exit of the residence, after a brief visit to their room.

The director of CEGEP Saint-Laurent all the while dispatched a psychologist and a nurse to meet those in the residence. "Some were anxious, others were simply irritated by the situation,” he said. “The pressure lessened when they knew what had happened.”

The director considers that only good communications and coordination with the police made it possible to deal with this kind of situation. "It is an unusual event, but is worrisome," he concluded. (Translated by Michael Beigleman)