Parents Say They Weren't Told Of Lockdown When Burglary Suspect Ran To Stockton School
STOCKTON (CBS13) — Parents are upset tonight after they say a Stockton elementary school kept them in the dark when a burglary suspect was taken down at the school.
Police were chasing a burglary suspect along Leaver Boulevard near Georgia Avenue on Wednesday, and followed him onto the Taylor Leadership Academy campus just a few blocks away.
The arrest comes about a month after a shooting victim stumbled onto the playground at nearby Marshall Elementary School. Authorities are still searching for the gunman in that incident.
Parents at Taylor Leadership Academy were upset they never got a call letting them know the school was on lockdown.
One parent we spoke to said she's had her phone by her all day and had no idea what was going on.
Stockton Police say the burglary suspect climbed a back fence at 9:45 a.m. He was quickly arrested outside the school building.
The Stockton Unified School District says an automated alert was sent out.
"If they were near their phone they should have received a call," said district spokeswoman Diane Barth.
Some parents may not have found out until later that day, but did admit they are grateful none of the children were hurt.
The school is surrounded by an 8-foot fence, has locking gates and doors and practices lockdowns so that teachers know exactly what to do.
Barth says Wednesday's incident is proof their procedures are effective.
"Certainly it is alarming and you have to hope that your procedures that you put in place work and in this case they did," she said.
The district did say that they can only call the phone numbers they have, and that many times parents don't update contact information. It is also asking all parents to submit email addresses as well.
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