Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

Police identify suspect quickly

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The father of a student at Fayette County Alternative School threatened three students with a firearm just off the school campus early Friday morning, officials said.

It was originally reported to responding police that the suspect wore a shoulder holster with his gun in one side and magazines for the weapon on the other side. It is not known whether the suspect had actually drawn the gun nor what the dispute was about. Fayetteville police declined to provide further details because the suspect was still at large, according to Lt. Beverly Trainor.

Schools spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said the school was locked down for safety, and several other schools in the area were warned about the incident to be on the lookout for any suspicious visitors. The schools which were notified, but did not lock down, included Fayette County High School, Fayetteville Intermediate and Hood Avenue Elementary.

According to police, the suspect dropped his daughter off early Friday morning at the Main Street Square shopping center, where alternative school students often gather before they are permitted on the school property. The man then approached the three students and indicated that he was concerned about them hanging out with his daughter, police said.

The suspect retrieved a shoulder holster, with a gun on one side and magazines on the other, and put it on before returning to speak with the students, according to police. He asked them for their names, and when the students asked if he was a police officer, he told them that he was not but he needed their names and information, police said.

The three students were “quite terrified” at that point, according to police, and began to walk to the school. As they walked along the sidewalk, the suspect drove slowly past them, making the three students feel intimidated, police said. The students entered the school and immediately told an administrator, who called 911.

The suspect’s name was not available at press time Friday afternoon. Officers were told the white male, about 5-feet-4 with a beard, was wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt and left the area in a black Ford Mustang.

The original complainant was unable to provide a direction of travel for the vehicle, but officers responded to the area in hopes of locating the suspect.

The suspect was identified by police by midday and was expected to be arrested sometime Friday, police said. He will be charged with reckless conduct and disrupting a public school. Police were withholding his identify until warrants could be issued for his arrest.

A letter would be sent home with students of the alternative school to notify them of the actions taken by school officials to keep students and staff safe, Berry-Dreisbach said.