Police on scene at NorKam Secondary on Nov. 6, 2025. (Image Credit: Michael Reeve/CFJC Today)

By Victor Kaisar

NorKam Lockdown

‘If we can’t say much, we’ll say something,” SD73 to change policies after information lag during NorKam lockdown

Dec 1, 2025 | 11:53 AM

KAMLOOPS — The interim superintendent of the Kamloops-Thompson School District (SD73) says the district will be making changes to how it communicates with the public following a lockdown at NorKam Secondary last month.

Information was at a premium from the school district and the RCMP, and it led to speculation online about the nature of the lockdown, which was eventually determined to be a prank call made by a student.

SD73 Superintendent Mike McKay says there were some “some mutual learnings” following a meeting with the RCMP, adding it will help SD73 refine its response plans.

“We’ll make sure that even in the interim, if we can’t say much, we’ll say something,” McKay said. “We will provide people with the information we can without compromising the variables that impact the action on the ground, or the investigation, or potential charges or anything else.”

“We hope it’s learning that we don’t need to activate, but it’s good to have.”

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According to McKay, the school district got feedback from the community that bemoaned the lack of timely information as parents gathered outside the school as they waited for their children to be released.

“Part of that was because we are pretty much bound not to be out in front of the RCMP with communications that could compromise either the action on the ground, or the investigation, or potential charges or anything else,” McKay added. “And, of course, the RCMP was in the middle of analyzing and making a determination that things were safe, and there was a fair time lag between the initial incident and our ability to say much.”

Moving ahead, McKay added SD73 wants people to continue reporting any potential threats to schools so that it can be properly investigated by the authorities.

But he also said false alarms like the NorKam lockdown are taken very seriously, and that it should not be happening as it could pull resources away from other emergencies.

“We need people to feel that if there is an issue that appears to be an emerging threat, that they are able to reach out and speak out in advance of anything happening,” McKay said.