School District 43 has referred a “racially motivated” incident to the Coquitlam RCMP after students allegedly uttered racial slurs and threats toward another teen believed to be a person of colour.
Parts of the conversation, which took place on the group video chat app Houseparty over the Family Day long weekend, were recorded by the target of the attack and re-posted to social media, according to SD43 spokesperson Ken Hoff.
“The district takes such matters seriously,” wrote Hoff in an email to the Tri-City News, adding that the Coquitlam school district is “committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students.”
In addition to contacting police, SD43 is deploying what it calls a “multi-disciplinary approach,” something Hoff said may involve a risk assessment protocol and reaching out to community partners or agencies like Safe Schools or the Ministry for Child and Family Development.
“After that information is gathered, the school/district may impose appropriate interventions and actions based on the impact to individuals at the school site, or impact to the greater school community, and develop intervention and safety plans with students and families,” wrote the spokesperson in an email.
— With files from Diane Strandberg
