Mount Sentinel Secondary student arrested due to security threat

A male student from Mt. Sentinel Secondary appeared in court in Castelgar, B.C., Monday in connection with a "specific and targeted" threat that forced the evacuation of the Slocan Valley high school on Friday afternoon.

But the brief appearance by the 18-year-old suspect did not answer questions swirling in the community about the nature of the threat made against the school, students and staff.

In a news release, RCMP said they learned about a possible threat at the high school at 2:30 p.m. PT on Thursday afternoon — more than 24 hours before the school was evacuated.

The suspect was detained by school officials and taken into police custody on Thursday without incident, said Cpl. Dave Tyreman.

• Mount Sentinel school evacuated and graduation cancelled due to 'specific and targeted threat'
• Mount Sentinel students push on with makeshift grad celebrations

"In the time between Thursday and the evacuation of the school more information came to light and increased the breadth of the threat," said Jeff Jones, superintendent of the Kootenay Lake School District, in an email to CBC News.

Numerous criminal charges are pending, according to police.

"Investigators have determined this threat to be very serious in nature and have determined this was an isolated incident," wrote Cpl. Dave Tyreman in a statement.

"We appreciate that there has been a number of rumours and speculation relating to the investigation, but our lack of public confirmation is not reflective of the investigative efforts taken."

School open to students for last day of school

The school remained closed on Monday, but opened Tuesday for staff members to "plan graduation and the completion of the year," according to the school's website.

An optional trip to Silverwood theme park has also been cancelled.

The school will be open until noon on Wednesday, the last day of the school year, for students to clean out their lockers "and say their farewells," the website states.

A formal grad celebration planned for last weekend was also cancelled due to the threat, but may be held at a later date.