St. Joseph faces lock down during police pursuit

OGDEN — An armed man led police on a high-speed chase from West Haven past St. Joseph Elementary and Middle School March 29. Seventh and eighth grade students were on the playground for a lunch recess and witnessed the chase as it went flying by.

"Police notified us immediately once the chase had ended at a house just kitty corner from our school," said Diana Hanebrink, St. Joseph Schools’ advancement director.

The chase ended when the man jumped out of his car and forced the resident of the home at gun point to leave. The man then barricaded himself in the home for four and a half hours. A SWAT team, Ogden City Police, and Weber County Sheriffs surrounded the home and were finally able to force him out and apprehend him.

"Moments before the police notified the school, Derek Tate, St. Joseph physical education teacher, and Linda Studdard, eighth grade home room teacher, were already getting the students back into the school where they would be safe," said Hanebrink. "We immediately sounded our lock-down code and started moving students into classrooms that faced east. The Quincy Campus is located at 2980 Quincy, so we wanted the students away from windows that faced west toward Quincy and 30th Street. The students did not feel threatened when they realized the man was not inside the school."

Once Louise Price, St. Joseph Schools principal, realized the situation was safe, she told staff members to move the students into the auditorium. The students prayed the rosary together and then watched a movie. They were able to use the rest room and get a drink of water without going into an area that was considered dangerous. The teachers and staff felt it was good for the students to be with their friends and other siblings while the situation was going on.

When school ended at 3 p.m., parents were only able to pick up their students at the east gate, which is in back of the playground and on the opposite side of the crime scene. Staff members escorted students one at a time, or a carpool at a time from the school to the gate in order to maintain control. The name of the person picking up the student(s) had to match the name on the blue emergency card before parents or guardians could sign, and students could be released.

"We used cell phones to communicate from the gate to the office, and we were certain to protect the students from any outside source of danger," said Hanebrink. "The police wanted the school cleared because they did not know how the situation was going to end, so extended day care students were all released by 4:30 p.m. The students were not allowed to get their book bags because they were located in a part of the school that could have been in the line of gun fire if it would have occurred. The students were happy not to have homework that night."

Hanebrink said that next day Aloha Behavioral consultants came by to check on the students, and they did not find any that were traumatized by the situation.

"Aloha consultants were amazed with the procedures we already had in place in responding to the situation and how we handled and protected the children," said Hanebrink. "The teachers have had in-service training with law enforcement officials and medical first aid training. We were prepared for this situation as well as a situation that could have been much worse."

Hanebrink said they have had a locked campus since the October 2006 shooting of 10 Amish girls in a one-room school house in Nickel Mines, Pa. The Quincy Campus has installed cameras and buzzers so they are able observe and monitor who enters the school.

"If this man had tried to run into the school instead of the house across the street, he would not have been able to enter and he would have been apprehended by police right away," said Hanebrink. "There would have been no place for him to hide outside because we have removed all the bushes from in front of the school. Parents were not happy when the school first became a locked campus, but since this situation, they are happy our school was locked.

"We learned from this situation, and realize walkie/talkies would have been more useful than cell phones," said Hanebrink. "We also want to install a bell system because our public announcement system does not go outside to the playground or in the rest rooms. We also want to install an automatic dialer so parents can be alerted with instructions on picking up their children, and so they all get the same information."