Two neighboring Columbus schools were on lockdown Monday morning after they reported a suspicious person in the area.
According to scanner traffic, Heritage Academy and Joe Cook Elementary were on a brief lockdown around 10 a.m. Monday after a man entered the main office at Heritage Academy and began acting strangely.
The man left the school and then walked across the street toward the direction of Joe Cook. Officials with Heritage Academy called the police, and officers with the Columbus Police Department responded to the scene.
The man, who was identified by the CPD as Curtis Pratt, was taken into custody and transported to Baptist Behavioral Health Care for evaluation.
Heritage Headmaster Greg Carlyle sent an email to parents informing them of the lockdown.
“Our schools went into lockdown this morning for approximately 10 minutes in response to a suspicious person in the area. Our students and staff followed the lockdown procedure swiftly and our buildings were immediately secured. Authorities were contacted and the situation was quickly resolved. All students and staff are safe and secure and the lockdown has been lifted,” the email read.
Columbus Municipal School District Public Relations Officer Michael Jackson said Cook was on lockdown as a precaution. Jackson said the lockdown was lifted after approximately 30 minutes and parents were not notified.
“He never entered into our building: They just locked it down as a precaution,” Jackson said.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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