Students and staff at Collège Lionel-Groulx in Sainte-Thérèse, Que., were told earlier in the afternoon to lock themselves inside as police descended on the school in the off-island suburb northwest of Montreal.
By 5:45 p.m., people inside the school were gradually being let out as the Thérèse-De Blainville Police (RIPTB) said in an update on its website that “no criminal activity” had taken place at the college in the previous hours .  No arrests were made and no injuries were reported, the release said. 
Investigators are trying to trace a person holding an object that was captured on video circulating on social media moments after the lockdown began.  The person is not considered a suspect, according to police. 
Police respond to Lionel-Groulx College in Sainte-Therese, Que., after receiving a report of a possible armed suspect on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (Source: Noovo Info)
“RIPTB wishes to highlight the excellent collaboration with the staff and students of the college, the police services of the towns of Saint-Eustache, Mirabel, Blainville and Deux-Montagnes, the CISSS des Laurentides and the town of Sainte-Thérèse.  The swift intervention of these partners will certainly have contributed to the effectiveness of this operation,” said Police Chief Insp.  Luc Larocque in a written statement.
Police received the report of a “potential active shooter” shortly after 1:40 p.m.  Officers who responded to the college told the public to stay away from the area.
Family members said the students were safe on social media.  While some remained locked inside until the afternoon, others had been warned to stay away from the building.
“Police are conducting searches at the college,” read an internal notice to students and staff, instructing them not to leave to use the facilities, but to create a private space if necessary.
“My grandson was able to get away,” one woman wrote in a social media post.  “The world is mad, mad, mad!”
Shortly after 5 p.m., the school sent out another internal memo notifying students and staff that they could seek mental health help at a nearby community center.

THIRD LOCKDOW IN LAST DAYS

Newly appointed Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel wrote online that he was aware of Friday’s intervention and that his teams were “closely monitoring the situation.”
The lockdown marks the third police intervention at a Quebec college in recent days.
On November 11, a 19-year-old man was arrested wearing a bulletproof vest at the CEGEP de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, west of Montreal.  No injuries were reported. 
That same day, a few hours later, four people were injured and taken to hospital after a shooting near Montmorency College in Laval, Que.  The next day, police said they had reason to believe the shooting was gang-related.