ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - The principal of Roanoke Catholic School said the school stands by its decision to send a letter to parents after an incident caused some concern Wednesday morning.
Parents raised those concerns after receiving a letter from the school which detailed an incident where a stranger pulled a gun on a church employee - resulting in their facility instituting a "shelter in place."
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The Roanoke City Police Department spoke with WSLS 10 Wednesday morning to clarify what its investigation into the incident found.
According to Public Information Officer Scott Leamon, a transient went up to someone at St. Andrew's Church holding an air-soft pistol and asked a worker to borrow a screw driver to change the cartridge in his BB gun. He changed the cartridge and left.
Police say they were able to catch up with the individual.
He was arrested on an outstanding trespassing charge unrelated to going to the church. Roanoke police say he was not charged with anything related to going to the church.
Roanoke Catholic School's Principal, Patrick Patterson, told WSLS 10:
We would make the same decision this afternoon that we made this morning. When we're given information about a potential gunman on campus, or on the joint campus between Saint Andrews and Roanoke Catholic and the direction of travel is away from the campus, until that person is in custody it only makes sense to do what you have to do to protect students."
Patterson added the school followed up with parents when new information became available to them. He said the school did what it thought was in the best interest of parents and students - who range in age from 3- to 18-years-old.
This was the letter originally sent out to RCS parents:
Dear RCS Parents,
We want you to know about a situation that occurred near our school campus this morning:
At 9:40 a.m., St. Andrew's Church staff notified our school administration that a stranger to the church pulled a gun on a church employee and then fled the building. At no time were any Roanoke Catholic students or faculty in danger, but as an added measure of caution, per our protocol, we instituted a "shelter in place," meaning our school day proceeded but no one was allowed to enter or leave the school building.
At 9:51, we were notified that the alleged gunman was taken into custody in downtown Roanoke several blocks from school. The "shelter in place" was lifted, and our school day resumed its normal activities.
We have worked hard to develop procedures -- in concert with St. Andrew's -- to assure the safety and well-being of your children. Please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for your attention.
Patrick Patterson