TAMPA, Fla. — Lockdown measures at a Tampa elementary school have been lifted following an unsubstantiated threat of a weapon near the campus, the Tampa Police Department said.
A staff member at Shaw Elementary School saw a man around 8:40 a.m. "frantically" banging on the front door of the administration building and asking to be let inside, the agency said in a statement.
The employee pushed her alert button, which Tampa police say all school employees wear, which prompted a lockdown. The man, identified as 44-year-old James Williams, was told to leave.
Instead, he ran to another school entrance and hopped a fence onto the school property. A Hillsborough County Schools security officer came in contact with Williams and stopped him from moving any further, police said.
Williams reportedly told the officer that another man was chasing him with a gun. He had cuts on his hands and some blood on his T-shirt, which he said happened when he jumped over the fence while fleeing.
Tampa police ultimately did not find anyone matching who Williams said was chasing him, nor did they find a gun or receive reports of gunshots.
Williams was arrested for trespassing on school property and may also undergo a mental health evaluation.
The school was on lockdown for about 30 minutes before reopening, police said.