SUFFOLK, Va. — Thursday's Suffolk School Board meeting featured some tense moments from community members who voiced concerns over the lack of communication from the superintendent and school board chair about a recent incident where an intruder got inside Kilby Shore Elementary School.
On June 14, the last day of school, a man made his way into the school and barricaded himself in a bathroom with students in it, according to court documents.
Police say the intruder wasn’t armed and no one was hurt. However, video of the incident — first obtained by News 3 — shines a light on security gaps at the school.
Watch: Video shows man entering Suffolk school, barricading himself in bathroom with students
The video shows a staff member holding a door for students going outside when a man comes running from around the backside of the school and slips inside while the door is still open. He shuts the door and runs into a girl's bathroom with two students inside. The video shows that eight minutes passed before an officer arrived to help get the man out.
Vontrail Thorpe, the man presumed to be in the video, is now facing trespassing and abduction charges.
Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon's review of intruder incident
Below is a timeline that includes an uninterrupted verbatim of Suffolk Public Schools Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon's review of the June 14 Kilby Shores Elementary School intruder incident. He explained this during the July 11 school board meeting.
At the school board meeting, Dr. Gordon said the district and board will not discuss safety measures in the public eye.
"I don't understand why we are now expected to share what new safety measures have been put in place," Dr. Gordon said.
He did say police walked the grounds of the Kilby Shores to understand how the intruder gained access.
News 3 fact-checks claims made by Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon about our reporting
After refusing to answer News 3 anchor and investigator Jessica Larche's questions for weeks about the district's plan to address safety following the Kilby Shores intruder incident, Dr. Gordon addressed the incident during the July 11, 2024 school board meeting. During that presentation, Dr. Gordon made claims about our reporting.
Jessica fact-checks those claims in the full video of Dr. Gordon's address below.
Community members share concerns with News 3
On Thursday afternoon, hours before the meeting, News 3's John Hood showed the video to educators who feel changes need to be made before the start of next school year.
"We have drills for everything. We have active shooter drills, we have fire drills. We do all these things but we don't have an intruder drill," said Suffolk teacher Sarah Hutzler. "We can treat that similar to someone entering the building or whatnot but I think we've been blind to that happening and I think this brought it to light that this is one thing that we need to add to that list."
Brandon Randleman, a citizen volunteer for the School Safety Audit Committee, said communication with the board following the incident has not been fruitful.
"I am disappointed in leadership of the school board. And I'm disappointed in the leadership of the administration of Suffolk Public Schools. I have had working relationships with these individuals in the past," Randleman told News 3. "What bothers me the most is that when I questioned them about the safety of students and about the safety measures that need to be put in place... all of a sudden, I received silence. I was reprimanded by some of them."
Watch previous coverage: Suffolk school leaders won’t answer News 3’s questions about school intruder video
