Thursday, March 28

School resource officer shoots ‘suspicious man’ dead after he tried to enter a locked school in AL


An Alabama school resource officer shot a ‘suspicious man’ dead after he attempted to enter the locked school on Thursday. 

The man reportedly arrived on school property around 9.30am on Thursday and ‘aggressively’ attempted to get inside vehicles and the building at Walnut Park Elementary in Gadsden, the sheriff confirmed. 

The elementary school immediately went into lockdown, according to AL.com.  

The school officer, who also works for Rainbow City Police, responded to an assistance call from the principal and then reportedly got into a physical altercation with the suspect. 

The suspect was shot and killed. The resource officer received minor injuries and was taken to the hospital, according to WHNT 19. 

It is unclear if the man was armed. The suspect reportedly tried to get the officer’s service weapon, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). 

‘An individual was attempting to make forcible entry into a marked Rainbow City patrol vehicle at which point a School Resource Officer with the Rainbow City Police Department attempted to stop the subject,’ ALEA said in a statement, viewed by the Gadsden Times. 

‘The subject resisted and attempted to take the officer’s firearm.’ 

It is unclear what the man’s motive was.  

A 'suspicious man' was seen trying to get into Walnut Park Elementary around 9.30am on Thursday. He was shot dead by the school's resource officer and it is unclear if he was armed

A ‘suspicious man’ was seen trying to get into Walnut Park Elementary around 9.30am on Thursday. He was shot dead by the school’s resource officer and it is unclear if he was armed

Superintendent Tony Reddick said Principal Alison Correll was notified about a ‘potential intruder, who was trying to come in or out several doors of the building.’ 

‘I got a call from the principal, who’s really distraught, and I really couldn’t make out what was happening, but I knew it was something pretty bad.’ 

By the time he arrived at the school, the man was already dead.  

He went on to say: ‘The principal was alerted immediately, [and] she went around and made sure it was all secure,’ Reddick told the press. He said the principal next contacted the officer and moved ‘curious’ teachers away from the area. 

A summer literacy program was reportedly going on inside and it was believed there was around 35 children attending. Roughly 20 other students that were participating in the Parks and Recreation summer camp was also on campus, according Gadsden Times. 

Reddick also said all the doors remained locked and that the intruder never gained access to the school. He said the children were ‘oblivious’ to what was going on.  

A crime scene unit was seen on school property after the event and a heavy police presence still remains there. 

Parents were told to bring identification at pickup in order to take their children home, WHNT reported. 

‘We’re just so thankful that none of this involved the children,’ Reddick told the press. ‘Everyone followed the safety protocols that we’ve drilled on.’ 

Reddick also said that he and the principal had recently attended a seminar that helped educators prepare for events like this and said they were careful to keep the doors locked following the Uvalde school shooting, where 19 children and two teachers died.  

‘Our doors are locked. Anyone who does not have a pass…they don’t get into the building. And we’ve got cameras, so we can see what’s at the door. [Visitors] have to be buzzed in or let in, if we feel they are appropriate. 

‘In fact, in most situations, we handle the situations outside the front door.’ 

He also said the school will review its response to the situation to see if they can strengthen it, the Gadsden Times reported.  

‘At the end of the day, the good news is no one made it into the building, and the kids were safe,’ Etowah County Sheriff Jonathan Horton told AL.com. 

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau is investigating the incident. 

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