Valdez, AK – Hermon Hutchens Elementary staff evacuated the school building Tuesday morning after identification of a suspicious person in the gym.
At approximately 8:43 a.m., Valdez Police Dispatch received reports of a suspicious man in the Hermon Hutchens Elementary School gym. Valdez Police Department officers responded within minutes and contacted the individual, 37-year old Valdez resident Joshua Terrell, in the east school parking lot. Officers trespassed Terrell from all Valdez City Schools property and he voluntarily departed school grounds.
Video surveillance footage indicates Terrell, wearing blue jeans, a red coat, and a backpack, entered the school through the main east door of the building. He then briefly walked into the empty boys’ locker room and racquetball court before entering the gym.
At the time of the incident, a fifth grade physical education class was in the gym. Terrell walked around the perimeter of the gym, but did not engage the class. The physical education teacher challenged the man’s presence in the room and then calmly evacuated her students out of the building.
The physical education teacher then contacted the elementary school office who promptly dialed 911. The elementary school principal engaged the automatic door lock between the main school and gym area. She then evacuated the entire building outside to the south parent pick-up area as a precautionary measure until police intercepted Terrell. All students were accounted for and returned to classes at approximately 8:47 a.m.
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Reports indicate Terrell did not possess a firearm or other weapons at the time of the incident and fully cooperated with school staff and VPD officers.
Under Alaska state statute, a trespass order is issued by a law enforcement officer to an individual as a warning they may not enter a specific property. If the trespassed individual is found on the property following the warning, they may be arrested for criminal trespass, a Class A misdemeanor.
Valdez City Schools Administration are currently working to review established school security protocols, to include challenging unfamiliar individuals during school hours and additional video surveillance measures.
The case remains under investigation.
