A school in Melbourne’s south-east has been closed following an alleged “threatening social media post”.
St Bede’s College in Mentone, 21 kilometres south-east of Melbourne’s central business district, was placed under lockdown at 8.25am on Wednesday.
The ban came after a photo was posted on social media last night, which was captioned ‘I’m unloading chargers on my teacher’, according to the Herald Sun.
Parents flocked to Facebook on Wednesday morning, with one claiming the photo had prompted the lockdown.
“Unfortunately, I think a kid posted a picture with a gun. I hope I misheard. Apparently kids are talking about this on Snapchat though,” one person wrote on Facebook.
“I can confirm this: a man posted a picture of a gun and bullets, and mentioned that he wanted to harm a teacher,” another replied.
A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed the Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit was investigating a “threatening social media post” reported at around 11pm on Tuesday.
“The post did not contain any threats against any particular school or person,” the spokesperson said.
St Bede’s College in Mentone was placed under quarantine at 8.25am on Wednesday
St Bede’s College went into lockdown at 8.25am on Wednesday
‘Investigations are underway to determine who created the post.
‘There is currently no threat to St Bede’s College in Mentone.
A text message to parents on Wednesday morning confirmed the closure, however emergency services have yet to provide an update.
“Message from St Bedes College: Mentone campus remains closed and there is no further update. All students and staff are safe,” the message read.
The school has released a statement confirming that the lockdown has been lifted.
“To our community, all our students and staff are safe. At 8.25am this morning, St Bede’s College Mentone went into lockdown on the advice of the police as part of a police operation,” the statement read.
‘At 9.40 the lockdown was lifted and classes resumed as normal.
‘Thank you to our entire community for your cooperation and understanding.’
St Bede’s College in Mentone is reportedly in lockdown
St Bede’s College is a Catholic boys’ school, founded in 1938.
Annual fees to attend the college start at $9,380 for Year 7 students, and the figure rises to $9,580 for Year 12 students.
The total price includes annual tuition, maintenance and development of the facilities, membership to the parents and friends association and a laptop.
However, fees do not include uniform, English language novels for Years 7-10, textbooks for Years 11-12, stationery and optional college trips (including ski trips, European history trips and indigenous immersion trips).
There are 1,900 students across the Mentone and Bentleigh East campuses as of 2023.
More to come.