Five Surrey schools closed during police raid
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| Evan Seal video |
Some drops of blood, the sound of a gun and an errant text message all led to a huge police raid and lockdown of five schools in Newton Thursday.
It all began at about 2 p.m. when police were searching for a person of interest in a criminal matter in the 8400 block of 144 Street. The person they were looking for wasn't at the address, but police noticed a couple off drops of blood on the patio and wanted to enter the home.
A disagreement between the officers and some residents in the home ensued, and one of the officers thought he heard the sound of a shotgun being racked.
Officers dropped back and called for support, and notified nearby Enver Creek Secondary and some elementary schools.
A student at one of the schools, who mistook the school lockdown for something else, used his cell phone to text-message his mother that a student in the school had a gun.
In the end, 30 to 40 police, including heavily armed emergency response teams, closed in on the area, while five schools were locked down.
At Enver, the school initiated a "code red" meaning all students were kept in their classrooms, while four other elementary schools, including Maple Green, Green Timbers, Janice Churchill and Brookside were put under code yellow, meaning the students were locked in the school.
At 2:30 p.m., police came to the house and threw in a "flash bang," a small explosive device used as a distraction while police enter the premises.
Four people were arrested and taken away.
No firearms were found in the home.
One man who lives in the area is suspicious of all the traffic coming and going from the house at all hours.
"We heard so many times, so many cars, and druggie people come," he said, noting he hasn't seen the police at the house before.
At least one of the remaining residents of the home was extremely mad.
A 24-year-old man, who only gave the name John, was furious that he was tackled by police during the raid. He described the resulting cut above his left eye as evidence of police abuse.
He also said the police entry into the home as overkill.
Several residents remained inside, and told The Leader they were just relaxing when police raided the home.
"It's blood, somebody got bit by a dog, big deal," John said of the drops on the patio. "And they proceeded to call the SWAT team over that?"
As to the neighbour's claim about drugs at the house, John was unimpressed.
"I don't care what the f----n' neighbours think," he said.
kdiakiw@surreyleader.com
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