Sharon Perry says her 16-year-old daughter sent her an alarming text on Wednesday, saying students at Centennial Secondary in Coquitlam, B.C., were sitting on the floor because of a police lockdown.
There was also a photo of the classroom’s windows covered in sheets of paper.
Perry said the school had also been locked down a week earlier. It happened again on Thursday in a situation she called “beyond scary” for her family.
Centennial Secondary is not alone. It was among nine schools in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody that were threatened and placed by police on hold-and-secure status on Wednesday, and among two schools that received threats again the next day.
RCMP had said Wednesday’s phone threats were ultimately deemed not credible, and RCMP Insp. Todd Balaban said in a Thursday press conference that all the threats were in the same school district and were “intertwined and connected.”
Perry said that the situation was frightening for a parent. During last week’s lockdown, her daughter told her they were barricading the classroom and hiding under their desks.
“I actually had a couple of moms at my house when it happened, and instantly we were scared, a lot of tears, because you just don’t know what’s happening,” said Perry, adding that “having a child tell you they’re scared and there’s nothing you can do is hard.”
Perry, who lives a block away from Centennial Secondary, said she watched armed police officers shutting down roads, deploying dogs and drones during the lockdowns.
“It’s beyond scary, feeling very helpless, and not knowing what’s happening. It’s very hard as a parent,” said Perry.
Balaban said investigators were working “tirelessly” to gather evidence. He said rumours about the threats circulating on social media weren’t helping the investigation.
He said that as a father of four daughters, he felt parents’ concerns.
“What families can do is you can communicate with your kids. You can sit at home and talk to them and tell them about safety, and listen to the teachers or persons in authority of the school, follow the protocols they have in place at the school,” said Balaban.
But Perry said they were getting little clear information from the school district.
“I just want more communication. I want to know what is happening. I want to feel confident that our kids are safe going to school. But without that communication, there’s just a lot of parents talking, kids talking, images, videos, things going on social media. We want real information,” said Perry.
The district said in a statement that media should contact Coquitlam RCMP for further information as it has “nothing more to share.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.
Nono Shen, The Canadian Press
