According to individuals familiar with the situation, the incident began early in the morning when one student allegedly choked another student, causing injuries that required medical treatment. A teacher was also transported for treatment following the altercation.
Sources say that later in the day, the parent of the student who had been choked came to the school and allegedly made threats toward the student involved in the incident. Witnesses described the parent as “irate” during the confrontation.
The situation escalated when a teacher pressed the school’s panic button, triggering a lockdown and prompting a significant police response.
During Tuesday night’s Erie School District board meeting, we asked Assistant Superintendent Neal Brokman about the incident.
“A teacher activated a lockdown based on the interaction there. It is not what we have trained our staff to do based on the reports I have seen,” Brokman said. “That level of police intervention and a lockdown situation was not warranted based on the situation.”
The school district released a statement on the matter, saying:
“An incident occurred at Jefferson elementary today which caused a staff member to trigger a police response from the city of Erie police department. it was determined that the incident did not rise to the level of requiring that response, and the call for assistance was canceled. the school district continues to investigate the underlying incident and has no further comment on what may be a student disciplinary matter.”
This is a developing story, and we will continue to update you as more information becomes available.