A man broke into a Ridgecrest elementary school Tuesday and took multiple items while in possession of multiple weapons.
However in the following days, parents reached out to KABC-TV in Los Angeles to voice concern over the situation.
“The kids were dropped off at school as this was taking place,” one parent told KABC. “Highly negligent… Beyond questionable… Total silliness.”
On Friday the district reached out to KABC-TV with a statement:
When law enforcement officers approached the subject in the desert, they noticed he was harnessing some type of a gun holster. Upon search of the subject and his vehicle, they did find the weapons mentioned above. They did not find any evidence of explosive devices or other related materials in the vehicle. The arrest and apprehension of the subject occurred around 7 am. After the arrest, officers began an investigation. A review of the school vIdeo surveillance system at 10am indicated the subject they arrested had actually been on campus beginning at approximately 3am. There were no other accomplices identified Once it was determined that the subject arrested was the same subject on the video surveillance system, the police department and school employees did conduct a search of the campus to ensure the safety of our students and staff.
We do have a protocol in place if school district employees or members of the police department believe there is a threat to the safety of our students or staff members on any of our school sites. We have lockdown procedures and follow emergency protocols depending on the nature of the incident. We have a parent notification system that will notify parents in the case of a school emergency or if a school lockdown occurs.
