Students at Brookswood Secondary were kept in their classrooms during a brief

lockdown Friday morning, with RCMP officers keeping watch out front.

The officers arrived before classes began on Dec. 21, with two constables out in front and a corporal inside the building.

Overnight, a rumour began, spread by social media and word of mouth that a student was planning to bring a weapon to the school, said Cpl. Patrick Davies.

According to Langley School District spokesperson Sandy Wakeling, a person who saw the threat contacted the RCMP.

The Mounties spoke to the school district, and the officers were at the school as students began arriving.

The lockdown was a "code yellow," one of the less serious categories.

Most exterior doors to the school were locked, and students

were directed to go into the main doors, where two RCMP constables were watching.

However, students continued to arrive as normal, and Wakeling said they were free to move between classrooms inside the school.

"It's business as usual in the building itself," Wakeling said.

Students who arrived were not allowed to leave again, said Davies.

By about 9: 50 a.m., the lockdown ended.

"Police were unable to verify these comments," Davies said in a statement. "It has now been determined these threats are unsubstantiated and have no credibility."

However, officers were to stay on scene for a while out of an abundance of caution.

After the recent mass shootings in Connecticut, staff at Langley School District were asked to review their emergency procedures little more than a week ago.

"Have the recent events caused a heightened awareness? I think that's fair to say," said Wakeling.

Within a few days to a week, school administrators and district staff will meet with the RCMP to do a post mortem on the incident, to see how well things worked and what could be done better for

mclaxton@langleyadvance.com