Northbrook Elementary goes on lockout after man, possibly on drugs, warns of shooting
Northbrook Elementary School went into a brief lockout on Wednesday morning after a driver, suspected to be under the influence of drugs, told a maintenance worker in the parking lot someone was going to shoot up the school, according to Fort Worth police and the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District.
The man, whose identity wasn’t released, was involved in a hit-and-run earlier in the day, police said. Officers later found him with drugs in his possession, police said, and determined he was possibly under the influence.
He was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of narcotics, according to Jimmy Pollozani, a police spokesman. There were no charges filed related to him stating someone was going to shoot up the school.
Pollozani said the man intentionally struck a vehicle and ran it off a roadway, using the vehicle as a deadly weapon. He didn’t have any weapons on him.
His statement to the maintenance worker “didn’t meet the elements of the offense to charge him with anything,” Pollozani said.
There was never a credible threat to the campus, according to Megan Overman, a spokesperson for the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District.
Officers were dispatched to Northbrook Elementary, at 2500 Cantrell Sansom Road, around 8:15 a.m., according to a police call log. The caller said a person in a silver coupe, with the front bumper hanging down, stated someone was coming to shoot up the school.
This person drove erratically across the front lawn and in the back parking lot, the call log indicates.
The maintenance worker reported this to the Northbrook principal, who called police and put the school in a precautionary lockout, Overman said. In a lockout, she said, the exterior doors of the building are locked but classes continue as normal.
There were police already in the area and they were able to locate the man, Overman said. He was arrested and taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The lockout began at 8:18 and was lifted less than 20 minutes later, at 8:34, Overman said.
“We always err on the side of caution and we went into that precautionary secure protocol until police could get the situation handled in the area,” she said.
A letter went out to parents explaining the incident, Overman said.
Maggie Highlen, the principal of Northbrook Elementary School, wrote in the letter, “There is nothing more important to us than the safety and well-being of our students and staff, and we are committed to maintaining a positive and safe environment.”
