The superintendent of the South Butler County School District said the decision to place school facilities on “modified lockdown” on Monday was done out of an abundance of caution.
Dr. David Foley said student safety is always the top priority.
“Our schools are always on lockdown. Our doors are always locked. Visitors need to be buzzed in. We have captured entrances. That challenge that we had was the situation started overnight, and we wanted to be confident that police had the student in custody and that we had all the facts,” Foley said.
Foley said the 18-year-old suspect in the case was arrested overnight but not arraigned until first thing Monday morning, so school officials decided to take the precaution while law enforcement were still working to process the suspect. Police are now solely handling the investigation, but Foley stressed there is no current threat to student safety.
“We believe our schools and our students are safe,” he said.
Foley also praised the coordination between the Penn and Middlesex township police departments and school police on this case, and said all proper protocol was followed.
