6 South Florida schools went on lockdown. One of them was expecting Florida’s first lady
A man with a pellet gun sent six Palm Beach County schools into a code red lockdown, including the one Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis was scheduled to speak at.
The schools were placed on lockdown early Thursday.
Police were searching for a man who had been spotted behind a garbage bin with a pellet gun near Hypoluxo Road and Military Trail, just west of Lantana, according to CBS12.
One of the lockdown schools was Freedom Shores Elementary, 3400 Hypoluxo Rd in Boynton Beach, which was awaiting a visit from DeSantis.
The first lady was going to speak about 10,000 reading scholarships that are available to students, but she had to postpone her visit because of the lockdowns, said a spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office.
“Out of deference for the situation that affected the local schools in the Boynton Beach area, we needed to postpone my visit to these schools,” First Lady Casey DeSantis said in a statement to the Miami Herald. “I have asked that we quickly reschedule these visits in the near future as I want to ensure that families are aware of reading scholarships that are available for their children, who I would enjoy meeting.“
The other schools that went on lockdown were Santaluces High, Citrus Cove Elementary, Hidden Oaks Elementary, Royal Palm School and Franklin Academy, a charter school.
The man, who never entered any of the schools, was found on a church property in the area. He was arrested for trespassing and was taken to a center for psychiatric evaluation, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The schools have since reopened.
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 1:13 PM.
