Parents tasered while trying enter Arizona school on lockdown over ‘suspicious person’

Three parents arrested as they try to enter Phoenix elementary school campus

Two parents were tasered while trying to enter a school in Arizona that was put on lockdown following reports of a suspicious individual.

Three parents were arrested as they tried to get onto the campus of Thompson Ranch Elementary School in El Mirage in northwest Phoenix on Friday morning.

Police were called to the scene at around 10.30am following reports of a suspicious person on the campus, according to 12News.

Law enforcement said that a man who seemed to have handgun tried and failed to get inside the school, prompting a lockdown. The man left the scene without having been inside the school.

While the building was locked down, parents started arriving at the scene. Some became hostile toward police when they weren’t allowed to enter the premises, the El Mirage Police Department told the press on Friday. They added that after several hours, the suspect was also detained. The area is safe and the threat has passed, police said.

Charges are pending while the suspect is undergoing mental health evaluations, 12News reported.

What the arrested parents may be charged with remains unclear. Police said it was later revealed that one of the parents also had a weapon.

In a press release, the Dysart Unified School District said that “in light of this, it is important to remind our community that anytime a lockdown is in place, nobody can enter or leave the campus”.

“This is done in partnership with law enforcement so they can clear each and every part of campus to ensure the safety of all students and staff. Additionally, schools are gun-free zones and it is a felony to possess a firearm on any school campus,” the district added.

The lockdown came following the mass shooting earlier this year at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, during which distraught parents also tried to get past law enforcement while the shooting was still ongoing.

During the 24 May shooting, 19 children and two teachers were killed.