Vandals spraying fire extinguishers cause closure of Iqaluit’s Nakasuk School

Nakasuk School in Iqaluit closed Oct. 23 after young vandals made a sticky mess in the school Oct. 22. (FILE PHOTO)

Nakasuk School abruptly closed for the day Oct. 23 after school staff discovered vandals had broken in to the school the previous evening and sprayed fire extinguishers around the first and second floors.

After receiving a phone call from school staff around 10 a.m. Oct. 23, RCMP came to collect evidence as the school’s 200 students from kindergarten to Grade 6 were sent home for the rest of day.

Cst. Stephane Kilabuk, the lead investigator on the incident, said the vandalism must have occurred during the evening of Oct. 22 between 8:30 p.m and 10 p.m.

However, the schools’ alarm system did not go off.

“That’s why we couldn’t respond at the time it occurred,” Kilabuk said.

Even after school started Oct. 23, police and teachers didn’t know about the incident.

Vandals caused no structural damage to the building, but they set off three fire extinguishers on the first and second floors.

The “significant” clean-up will take at least a few days, Kilabuk said.

“There was indication that there was a fault with one of the doors that allowed them to have access after hours. I think it’s something the school has since addressed,” he said.

Public activities were also taking place at the school during the evening of Oct. 22, and people were coming and going, Kilabuk added.

A group of five to seven young boys are suspected of having caused the damage.

To learn more, police are scrutinizing video surveillance of the school’s interior, he said.

The failure of vandals to trip off the Kugluktuk high school’s alarm system has also led to repeated break-ins at that school.