RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A police-involved shooting that led to a lockdown at Suncoast Community High School led to frantic worries from parents concerned for their children's safety and frustrated by the lack of communication.
Riviera Beach police said Monday that a "combative" man was shot twice by a police officer in the parking lot of the school after he "made physical contact" with the officer.
"I got a text from my daughter saying that there was a shooting, and they were on lockdown," parent Addis Harrison told WPTV's Chris Gilmore.
Harrison said she was texting back and forth with her daughter while the school was on lockdown.
Claudia Aramouni, the mother of two twin girls in the 11th grade, said her daughters sent her a text that they were in a locked classroom hiding under a table at the time.
"It was nerve-wracking," she said.
Another parent sent an email to WPTV claiming Suncoast "mismanaged" the dissemination of information. Below is the full email sent to WPTV:
"This morning there was an active shooter event at school. Administration at Suncoast mismanaged this. I'm appalled by the incompetence of school officials especially the principal. My daughter notified me at 07:17 am that they were in a Code Red, and that someone was shot. They were hiding in the library. I called the school no one picked up the phone. We did not get an automated call until 07:57 am. No communication with parents is a total FAILURE."
The School District of Palm Beach County provided a statement to WPTV at 9:31 a.m. that stated, in part, that an unknown man was shot in the parking lot of the school. Below is the statement provided to WPTV:
"This morning during school arrival, there was a shooting involving an unknown adult male in the parking lot of Suncoast Community High School. No students or school staff were harmed in the incident. School administrators immediately placed the school in full lockdown. All students are safe, and the campus is secure. There is currently a multi-agency response on campus to investigate.
Nearby school campuses, including Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Washington Elementary, and John F. Kennedy Middle School, were placed in limited movement. They are now all clear and will continue with a regularly scheduled instructional day."
Riviera Beach police said there was no threat to students or faculty at the school.
"I heard one shot and I heard, like, the ambulance, the cop cars," freshman London Hertelendy said.
She had just arrived on campus when, moments after gunfire, she heard the call for a code red.
"We heard over the, like, intercom that we were in a code red, and our principal, she sounded very scared, and it sounded real," Hertelendy said.
After some confusion among students and staff, Hertelendy said she was directed to the library, where she hid under a table. It was then that she was able to text her dad. The time was 7:17 a.m.
"What should've happened is we should've also simultaneously got text messages as parents indicating that there's a code red," her father, Dr. Attila Hertelendy, told WPTV. "We didn't get anything until 7:57. We didn't get a text. We got a phone call."
In addition to being a parent, Herterlendy happens to be a disaster and emergency management expert.