Police are looking for this man, who they say came into a Norfolk elementary school claiming to be an undercover officer.
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk parents are holding their children a little tighter, after a police impersonator sent Mary Calcott Elementary school into a lockdown on Friday morning.
According to Norfolk Police, a man came into the school claiming to be an undercover police officer, around 8:30 am, thirty minutes before school begins.
"It was shock," said Jesseca Gilbert, a parent with two children who attend Mary Calcott. "It was shocking to hear that somebody had entered the school."
2nd grader Crisalyn Webster, a student at Mary Calcott, told News 3 students were some of the last to find out the school was in a moderate lockdown Friday morning.
"It came on the speaker in my classroom, and it said, 'stay in. No recess or going outside," Webster told News 3's Merris Badcock. She said she wondered what was going on, but no adult gave her anymore information.
Police say the man claimed to be an undercover cop that needed to inspect the school.
"They got that uneasy feeling that something just wasn't right, so school officials started questioning him," Norfolk Police Public Information Officer Daniel Hudson told News 3.
Staff began to ask the man questions and for his police badge. That is when officials say the man ran from the school.
School began as usual at 9:00 am, but there was an increased police presence.
"We were there all during the student dropoff time, so we were trying to figure out things along with them," Hudson told News 3.
Mary Calcott officials sent out an email, along with a text message and automated phone call to parents.
Officials told News 3 the moderate lockdown was lifted just before noon.
However, some parents told News 3 they were upset the school did not notify them until two hours after the incident.
"It is just scary, you do not know what could happen, even with the presence of security and stuff out here," Gilbert told News 3.
While some parents were pulling their kids out of school, Fawn Burroughs was bringing her 5-year-old son back to Mary Calcott after a dentist appointment. She had no complaints about the length of time it took to notify parents.
"I think things like that probably take a little bit of time to go through the proper method of getting everything done, and I am sure that the school did everything that they needed to be doing," Burroughs told News 3.
The suspect is described as a black man, about 6-feet tall, in his 40s wearing a blue plaid shirt and khaki pants.
If you have any information that may help police, call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
