By Ashley Silver
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida elementary school was placed on lockdown after a man wielding an ax attempted to break into the facility before being shot by police.
Jacksonville.com reports the incident began when the unnamed man approached the school’s entrance, frantically attempting to breach the locked entrance doors. All doors to the school are locked from the inside per district policy according to Greg Burton, chief of the county’s school police. The school’s surveillance cameras made officials aware the man was attempting to force his way into the school.
“He was carrying a very large ax,” Superintendent Diana Greene Greene said. “The gentleman tried to get in a second door. It was locked, and we immediately went into a Code Red.”
After the man could not enter the school, he left the property but was tracked to a nearby church by school district officers.
“As the subject came toward one of the police officers, the officer gave him verbal warnings to drop the ax,” Burton told the media outlet. “The subject threatened the officer with the ax. The subject was then shot at least one time.”
A motive for the incident is still unclear, but the investigation is ongoing. The man, who was critically injured, was transported to a hospital.
“While it is troublesome that the event ended in this way, I am very thankful for the professionalism of our staff who took the steps necessary for the safety of the school community,” Greene told parents according to Jacksonville.com.
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