LMS Visitor Posed No Threat, APD Says
Joint Statement
Contacts:
Superintendent Sean McPhetridge
(510) 337-7060
Chief of Police Paul Rolleri
(510) 337-8300
Public Information Officer Sarah Henry
(510) 747-4714
For Immediate Release
November 13, 2017
Following an autodialer message sent to the Lincoln Middle School (LMS) community last week, social media reports over the weekend detailed two incidents in which a young man visited the LMS campus last week and made some disturbing comments. Families understandably have had concerns about the comments and questions about how this situation is being handled. We are writing today to let you know how the situation has been handled and prevent the spread of speculation and fear on social media.
AUSD Superintendent Sean McPhetridge, Chief of Police Paul Rolleri, and LMS Principal Michael Hans jointly worked to respond to this situation over the weekend. We would like to reassure all community members that officers with the Alameda Police Department (APD) have investigated the situation, interviewed the young man in question, and believe he does not pose a threat to LMS or any other campus in Alameda. No crime has been committed, and the young man who was questioned apologized for the remark. He also apologized for unintended concerns that were raised because of it, and has agreed to stay away from the campus.
To help reassure families, APD stationed several officers at LMS throughout the day today. In addition, LMS staff have been briefed on the incident, including being made aware of the young man’s identity who made the comments, as have all AUSD principals. At the end of the day today, APD will re-evaluate the deployment of officers on campus.
Please know that all AUSD schools drill for campus intruder incidences, and many APD officers are trained in school crisis intervention and response. We believe that as a community we are fully prepared to assess and respond to a wide variety of circumstances so that we can keep students, staff, and the community safe.
