LINCOLN, Ala. (WIAT) — Parents in one Talladega County town are upset after learning about an unknown man discovered inside an elementary school Tuesday.
Parents of children at Lincoln Elementary School were notified hours after a lock down was put in place Tuesday afternoon. According to police, a teacher discovered an unknown man inside the building and asked to see his identification. The teacher notified police, but the man left the building before they arrived.
“We secured the building and searched the area to find the man,” Investigator Amanda Crow said. Lincoln Police tell CBS42 that the teacher did exactly what she was supposed to do in that situation. They say that there was never a threat to the children inside the school.
“When I got the call, it was very frightening,” Mignon Stricklin said. She has a 3rd grade son who attends Lincoln Elementary. Stricklin says her son is scared that someone might come and hurt him. The situation hit home for many people in the area, include Crow.
“I, myself, have a child that’s in an elementary school in this county,” Crow shared.
“I didn’t allow him to attend school [Wednesday],” she said. Stricklin did bring her son back by the school, to show him that nothing was wrong. Lincoln Police Department and the Talladega Sheriff’s Department both increased patrols around the school Wednesday.
Officers say that no one was in danger during the incident Tuesday. With all of the clown scares happening across Alabama, Crow says that police departments take every threat seriously.
“I think that people need to realize that the clown scares are a serious threat,” Crow explained. She said that those threats fall under the charge of “Making a Terroristic Threat” and regardless of how old you are, law enforcement will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Crow said that Tuesday’s incident should reassure parents.
“I feel better as a parent after seeing how well the school responded and how quickly law enforcement responded and how we worked together,” Crow said.
Stricklin wishes she was notified sooner. One parent said there were several different versions about what happened floating around the community. She wished the school would have made it clear.
“We see that there are police officers here and the sheriff’s department is here,” Stricklin said. “I’m reassuring him that tomorrow will be a better day.”
Talladega County Schools provided this statement:
The safety of our students is always our top priority. As a result of the situation that occurred yesterday at Lincoln Elementary School, we have reminded school staff to continue to be vigilant and report any questionable activity to the administration.