School placed on brief lockdown

Panic broke out this afternoon as three schools were placed on lockdown. It was put in effect around 12:30 this afternoon at ‘Salida Del Sol,’ ‘Rancho Viejo Elementary School’ and a nearby Pre-School.

The Yuma Police Department received a tip from an employee that there was a man being aggressive and carrying a rifle. This all began when the employee came across the individual outside of the premises. Dale Ponder, the Chief of Operations for Crane school district explains the moment the employee came in contact wih the suspect.

“There was a sound that triggered the employee. They heard him and turned around and saw him and then began to ask why he was here and what was it that he was seeking…that type of information and then the individual fled. He went to his bicycle heading southbound on Avenue C,” said Ponder.

Officers were able to locate the suspect and found that he was carrying a saw. The investigation revealed the man hit a sign outside with his hand and that was the loud sound the employee heard. No damage was done to the property. All schools involved were on hard lockdown for approximately 8 minutes and luckily no one was injured.