Police find gun, alcohol on man arrested at school
A 22-year-old man has been arrested after trying to enter a side door of Collierville High School while possessing a gun and knife, according to a release from the school district and confirmation from the Collierville Police Department.
No one was injured, according to the police department, and the man, identified by police as Matthew French, was taken into custody without incident.
Once in custody, a search of the French’s belongings revealed “a small, unloaded pistol, a knife, seven loose bullets, several vaping pens, a flask of alcohol and a small quantity of marijuana,” according to the district and the police department.
French told officers that he was at the school to meet some friends and give them alcohol, according to the police department.
Police department spokesperson Lt. Sam Draper confirmed to the Commercial Appeal that the man is facing two charges for possession of a weapon on school property and charges for possession of alcohol on school property, trespassing, possessing marijuana and possessing drug paraphernalia.
Because the weapon was not discovered until after French was apprehended by police, the school was not put on lockdown, Jeff Jones, chief of staff for Collierville Schools, told The Commercial Appeal by phone Tuesday afternoon.
He said that French was arrested shortly after he entered the building around 11 a.m. and a search of his backpack then revealed the weapons. Jones said school leadership was notified of the incident around 11:30 a.m.
Information about the incident was then shared with the campus community around 2:20 p.m., he said.
Student alerts teacher about stranger asking for school’s ‘easiest point of entry’
According to the district’s release, the man arrived on campus on a bicycle around 10 a.m. and went to the main office. He asked to speak with a teacher and was denied entry, the release says.
Soon after, a student arriving to school told a teacher that a person had inquired about the easiest point of entry to the school, per the release.
School resource officers, who are part of Collierville Police Department, Lt. Draper said, were alerted. Officers then began searching for the man, who had left campus at that time, the district said.
The man then returned to campus around 11 a.m. and knocked on a side door, the school district said, and a student opened the door.
The man was apprehended moments later by a school resource officer, the district said. He was then taken into custody by the Collierville Police and transported to police headquarters.
“Since this morning’s incident, students have been reminded never to open doors for anyone outside the school building,” the district said via press release. “Collierville Schools wishes to express appreciation to both our dedicated school resource officers and the student who felt comfortable sharing his concerns about the stranger with a school employee.”
The man is currently at the Collierville Jail, Lt. Draper said.
Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@ commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @Ldtestino