Could it be that in this era of school shootings we must be careful what we’re wearing when we enter a school building?
Is there a new form of discrimination, with men in camouflage generating suspicion?
At L’Anse Creuse High School in Harrison Township this morning school officials panicked when a man dressed in military fatigues, a flak jacket and an empty side holster was mistaken for a possible mass murderer ready to shoot up the building. They closed the school and the adjacent junior high and elementary school for the day.
In reality, he was a former student who visited his alma mater after getting off of work at nearby Selfridge Air National Guard Base, where he is an airman.
Though many Selfridge families send their kids to L’Anse Creuse schools, officials responded to the report of a man in camouflage inside the high school by cancelling school for the day.
Here is the news story by The Macomb Daily:
A former student dressed in military fatigues, a flak jacket and an
empty gun holster on his side was questioned by authorities after he
walked into L’Anse Creuse High School in Harrison Township early Tuesday
morning and was mistaken as a possible dangerous intruder.
His
presence caused classes to be cancelled by school officials, said Kelly
Allen, communications director for L’Anse Creuse Public Schools. Besides
at the high school, classes were cancelled at the nearby L’Anse Creuse
Central Middle School and Graham Elementary School.
“Classes were
cancelled as a precautionary measure,” Allen said. “When an individual
walks into a school wearing camouflage military fatigues and a holster
there is no way of knowing at the time whether he was armed or not.”
The
man, who had just gotten off work at the Selfridge Air National Guard
Base, told authorities he went to his alma mater to talk to a counselor
about a job recommendation. The man, who wasn’t identified, left the
building and went home when told by a janitor that counselor wasn’t in,
Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said.
L’Anse Creuse High School is located at 38495 L’Anse Creuse Drive in the area off Crocker Blvd. and Metropolitan Parkway.
“This individual has been very cooperative with us,” Wickersham said. “He used poor judgment.”
The
man is an airman at the National Guard base in Harrison Township,
Wickersham said. He went to the school after work and was met by a
janitor at 6 a.m. and was told the counselors were not at work yet.
“The
man left on his own and was met by another counselor in the parking who
advised him to call later,” Wickersham said. “The janitor told his
relief at 6:30 that this guy was in the school and school officials were
notified.”
Wickersham said the man’s story checks out. He said the man has been cooperative with his deputies.
“In
light of today’s events going around the country, poor judgment was
definitely used by the individual coming into school wearing camouflage,”
Wickersham said.
Macomb sheriff’s deputies and a canine searched the school and found nothing of interest to law enforcement.
Sheriff’s deputies left the school at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
