ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A man was arrested on Tuesday morning after trying to enter Romulus Middle School with a gun, according to officials with Romulus Community Schools.
Watch Whitney Burney's report on the incident in the video below
School administrators told 7 News Detroit a man tried to get access to the middle school while brandishing a gun. It's unclear if shots were fired or if the man was banging on the door with the weapon in hand.
Tuesday morning, police were still working to learn the man's motive.
We're told the first 911 call went out around 10 a.m. about the man, at which point the school was put under a soft lockdown. The man was arrested minutes after the 911 call went out, officials say.
"It’s your worst nightmare if it doesn’t go well. So, great relief that officers were able to get here so quickly, that the school did all the right things, that our protocols that were in place worked. It worked the way it's supposed to," Romulus Police Chief Robert Pfannes said.
7 News Detroit spoke to Romulus Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Edmondson about the situation.
"Emotionally, it’s tough. Driving over here, it felt like 9/11 again for me," Edmondson said as he described his morning.
Edmondson says he was grateful that the protocols in place protected the students.
"I feel blessed to be in front of you not talking about something different," Edmondson said. "The beauty is that the process worked. Our secretaries, when you come into our schools, you don’t get to just walk in and at most Michigan schools, that’s over with. You have to buzz to get in. (The school secretary) saw something and made the quick call, did what she had to do and she absolutely thwarted what possibly could have happened."
The soft lockdown was lifted, and officials say students were allowed to finish out the day.
However, some parents like Keon Gardener arrived early to pick up their children.
"Just very shocking. Never been through anything like this before," Gardener said. "It’s your kids. I needed to get up here. I needed to see that they were alright."
Other parents are now asking the district to be even more communicative should another incident like this take place.
Nathaniel Ramirez says he never received the original voicemail and only learned what was happening because of social media and a text from one of his children who wasn't in the building.
"It’s a nerve-wracking feeling, definitely. Knowing that you’re helpless. You can’t reach out to your students because of how it is nowadays. Students can’t have their phone in class," Ramirez said. "My message is you need to overly communicate. There’s no such thing as over communication, especially when it’s a serious incident such as this."
The incident remains under investigation.
