Texas shooting aftermath: Attention turns to Calgary school safety, youth mental health support
Texas shooting aftermath: Attention turns to Calgary school safety, youth mental health support
After a massacre at a Texas elementary school, some are looking into safety protections against gun violence in Calgary's school system while mental health experts are offering advice for difficult conversations about mass shootings.
Grief is pouring out over the 19 elementary school children and two teachers who were shot dead Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Officials say the 18-year-old shooter was armed with an AR-15 style weapon, and was killed by a border patrol agent at the scene.
"It's absolutely horrific," said Martina Kanciruk, a registered psychologist who practises with children and youth in Calgary.
"I can only imagine how terrifying it would be."
Tragically in the United States, school shootings are not uncommon.
Just 10 years ago, the deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. elementary school took place at Sandy Hook in Newton, CT., with 26 lives lost.
In 2018, a gunman opened fire at a high school in Parkland, FL., killing 17.
SCHOOL SAFETY PRACTICES
Schools across North America, including here in Calgary, now practise drills for active shooters.
Preparation for violent attacks is encouraged, doors are locked frequently, and police officers are assigned to school buildings.
"We are in a situation where that could happen here and that's not to fear monger. That's the prevention piece that we have of trying to make sure that everyone is prepare that if a situation did arise in a school, that for safety," said Tad Milmine, a student resource officer with the Calgary Police Service (CPS).
"Everyone knows what to do."
Milmine says his role is to connect with the student body and to intervene early when signs of potentially criminal or dangerous behaviour are spotted, and called his work gratifying for its ability to make a difference in young people's lives.
In a statement to CTV News, the Calgary Board of Education says, "Ensuring that schools are safe for students and staff is critically important to all school boards."
"Calgary Board of Education schools are required to have plans in place to respond to specific emergency situations such as fire drills, lockdowns, off site evacuations and external threats," it read.
"CBE and other school boards worked with the Calgary Police Service to develop our lockdown protocols and ensure they are consistent across the city."
The Calgary Catholic School District also utilized active shooter drills and student resource officers to minimize anxiety for responses to threats.
"CCSD also has counsellors in all of our junior high and high schools, as well as wellness workers in our elementary schools, that are available to speak to students or parents who have any anxiety or concerns," read a statement.
"The safety of our students and staff is CCSD's top priority."
Both school boards say they are grieving with the victims of the Texas shooting and all those affected.
CHILD MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT ADVICE
Such extreme events can cause children to be distressed or feel unsafe at their schools and child mental health experts say honest conversations can help alleviate the mental toll.
"Saying 'don't worry' doesn't fix the problem. It actually makes people worry more," said Martina Kanciruk.
She says it's better to instead express understanding that it must feel scary and to offer to talk about what happened.
Kanciruk says it's important to acknowledge their worry, then explain that the likelihood the tragedy could happen to them is not likely, to balance the risks and the realities of being ready for the worst case scenario.
"If we don't talk about things, all we end up doing is having a generation of youth that push feelings down, that push their thoughts down, and don't learn how to talk about them, process them or get their questions answered," she said.
CANADA SEES SCHOOL VIOLENCE
While school shootings are rare, Canada isn't immune to violence.
On May 18, CPS responded to Bowness High School to arrest a student accused of bringing a stolen handgun and ammo to school in a backpack.
No one was hurt, there was no lockdown.
The youth has been charged with six offences in relation to carrying a concealed weapon, unauthorized possession, careless use and tampering with a serial number.
However, the initial school memo sent to parents after the incident didn't say there was a firearm involved, sparking concerns about transparency from the school.
Principal Jana Macdonald sent a new letter on Wednesday, saying she was responding at the direction of law enforcement and details were ultimately up to CPS to disclose.
Macdonald added it's important to be as transparent as possible and student safety is paramount.
Details of the incident were filed with the Calgary Police Commission during its public meeting on Wednesday.
In those details submitted it said, "subsequent investigation revealed student was likely seeking attention and not motivated by violent tendencies."
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.
A former staffer who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault has defected to Moscow and spoken to Russian state media in a news conference that lasted several hours.
Wildfires in Nova Scotia have burned thousands of hectares across the province, forcing many to flee their homes. Halifax-area residents tell CTV News what it was like for them when they had to evacuate.
As text-generative artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT change the tide of web surfing, one Toronto blogger warns of a “seismic shift” in search engine optimization.
Imagine being struck with a sudden onset of confusion, struggling to think of words or to recognize your surroundings — and even ending up in the emergency department because of it. No, this isn’t a description of dementia, but of a common complication that can arise from serious liver disease.
The Edmonton Oilers made their first trade of the offseason Wednesday, picking up 20-year-old prospect centreman Jayden Grubbe from the New York Rangers.
Frontline health-care workers at Surrey Memorial Hospital say the emergency room should be shut down to new patients if staff shortages continue to create "perilous" conditions for people in need of urgent care.
Wildfires in Nova Scotia have burned thousands of hectares across the province, forcing many to flee their homes. Halifax-area residents tell CTV News what it was like for them when they had to evacuate.
A "critical" shortage of teachers in B.C. is leading to increased workloads, mounting stress and an inability to meet students' needs, according to a first-of-its-kind survey conducted by the union.
The northern Vancouver Island village of Sayward remains on edge Wednesday as a wildfire continues to burn out of control just five kilometres west of the community.
The B.C. government is warning drivers of changes – some permanent – to the Patricia Bay Highway (Highway 17) in Saanichton as work begins on the new Keating Cross Road overpass.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Brad Treliving to be the team's new general manager. The team made the announcement Wednesday, less than two weeks after firing Kyle Dubas.
A Toronto woman says she was shamed for the size of her order at a sushi restaurant north of the city in a scathing review posted to social media that’s been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Last year, Quebec’s Bill 96 became law, which brought sweeping changes to the Charter of the French language. Sections of the new law will come into effect on June 1, the one-year anniversary of the bill receiving royal assent.
High heat is pushing into parts of Quebec this week, and many communities could see record-breaking temperatures this week. Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued special weather statements, advising people of the above-average temperatures.
A new team working out of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada (SHC-Canada) wants to get young people like Horn, who injured themselves, back on their feet and running as fast and efficiently as possible.
Canadian Heritage unveiled the programming for July 1 celebrations, inviting Canadians to come to the capital region to "join the biggest party in the country!"
People who live on Ralgreen Crescent in Kitchener say it could have been a lot worse after a car careened off the road and smashed through their backyards on Tuesday afternoon.
A Toronto woman says she was shamed for the size of her order at a sushi restaurant north of the city in a scathing review posted to social media that’s been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Forest fires in northern Ontario are on the rise, with the largest in the region shutting down a critical highway for the people of Hornepayne for a bit and bringing the community to the brink of evacuation.
Manitoba RCMP have arrested a priest from a First Nation community who is accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, and believe there may be more victims.
