Dawson Creek man charged with multiple offences after shots reportedly fired at Alberta school principal

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — A Dawson Creek man has been arrested and charged with multiple offences after police received reports about shots being fired at a school in Alberta on the same day as the Tumbler Ridge school shooting. 

Edson RCMP responded to a call on February 10th of a man acting strangely near a local school in Edson, Alta. 

The person was allegedly seen throwing beef jerky and yelling bible verses at the students. 

When confronted by the principal, police were told the man had fired three shots from a cap gun in the principal’s direction. 

The RCMP say officers arrived at the scene immediately and located a vehicle, which took off on Highway 16 westbound.

The Alberta RCMP air services, emergency response team and police dog services were called to assist with the pursuit.

After travelling for quite some time on Highway 16, the suspect vehicle turned into secondary roads north of the highway and stopped at a private farm east of Hinton, according to police.

A man was arrested peacefully, officers say.

Officers believe he randomly attended the school and no student witnessed the cap gun incident. 

As a result of the investigation, 39-year-old Bryce Montgomery Petrick, a resident of Dawson Creek, has been charged with the following: 

• Using an imitation firearm while committing an offence
• Possessing an imitation firearm for a dangerous purpose
• Mischief
• Flight from police 
• Dangerous driving

Petrick was remanded into custody and he appeared before the Alberta Court of Justice in Edson on February 12th. 

This incident took place on the same day an 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a resident of Tumbler Ridge, killed her mother and stepbrother before going to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she killed six more people.