The Eastchester community is on the alert today after a man was arrested for trespassing at the high school, forcing the school to close.
Police said the man was known to police and the district and was the same person who attempted to enter Waverly School last month.
The latest incident happened just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday when the superintendent said the man was strangely walking along White Plains Road.
It was at this point that the police were dispatched to the area, following him with two patrol cars until he left the sidewalk towards the front door of the school.
The school district and a school security guard, under contract with Briger Security, were unaware that police were following the man into the high school building.
The security guard called him without following the proper procedure to screen the man first, according to the superintendent.
And that’s when the man started running into the building, triggering a lockdown and a high school hallway chase involving staff safety and police.
He was quickly escorted out of school and taken into custody.
The superintendent says the district has improved security protocol over the past few years with continued work alongside the Eastchester Police Department. In a statement, he said: “Although the district trains repeatedly, uses many emergency management protocols, and has strict visitor management procedures in every building, it is clear that human error has played a role. an important role in this incident.
The security guard has since been relieved of his duties in the district.
News 12 learned that the school was not open at that time, except for a few students taking the Regents exams, and that the intruder made no threats of injury or possessed no weapons at the time of his arrest.
