Staff and students at Spectrum Community School evacuated the building Tuesday after the school received a bomb threat about 10:20 a.m.
The Greater Victoria School District decided to send students home. Saanich police remained at the school into the afternoon, when the school district posted a note on its website saying the school had been deemed safe.
Spectrum will be open as usual on Wednesday.
Police were called because of the “specificity” of the threat, the note said.
Adjacent Marigold Elementary School and St. Joseph’s School were placed in hold-and-secure mode for the day on Tuesday, meaning the outside doors were locked while activities inside carried on.
Saanich police Sgt. Damian Kowalewich did not comment on how the threat was delivered, but said a “thorough and comprehensive” search of the school was being done.
“We’ve had officers along with specialty officers from the explosive-detection unit searching, as well as a specially trained dog who’s able to sniff incendiary devices,” he said.
He said Spectrum is challenging to search.
“There’s a lot of ground to cover inside,” he said. “We’re taking a conservative approach with the search and making sure that it’s done properly.”
Kowalewich said whoever is responsible for the threat could face consequences under the Criminal Code.
Police said students unable to make their own way home were supervised at Marigold Elementary until a parent or guardian could pick them up.
Buses operated by Third Wave and Garden City were running as usual.
