The West Vancouver Police Department is warning parents to tell their children not to send text messages or use cell phones in lockdown situations, following Wednesday's lockdown of Rockridge Secondary School.
The WVPD's concern is that children's phones ringing -- either buzzing or lighting up -- could pose a security risk to them by revealing their whereabouts.
Rockridge was surrounded by armed police for more than three hours after reports that two men -- one with a gun -- had been seen near the school. No gun or suspects were ever found.
Hundreds of students were kept inside while police investigated. Corporal Fred Harding says his department can't stop people from phoning and texting -- but it's working on ways to learn from Wednesday's incident.
"We learned that yesterday kids under pressure, parents under pressure and under stress are going to text. They want that information. That's a perfectly normal thing to do. What we're going to do now is evaluate that and find out how we can make that work for everyone involved in the situation."
Ctvbc.ca broke the story and received dozens of text messages from pupils who were inside the school during the lockdown, some of which were posted online.
West Vancouver School Superintendent Geoff Jopson says the school has practiced for this type of scenario in the past, and were well prepared for Wednesday's scare.
Around 840 grade eight to 12 students attend the high school, which is located directly across from Caufeild Village Mall on Headland Dr. in West Vancouver. Rockridge includes families from the areas of Bowen Island, West Bay, Caufeild, Gleneagles and Lions Bay.
RELATED: West Vancouver school lockdown photo gallery.
