Man arrested after students report threat
Two suspects were apprehended and one remains in custody after a lockdown at a local elementary school Wednesday stemming from a report of two students being threatened by a man with a knife.
Palmcroft Elementary School went into a lockdown for about 20 minutes Wednesday morning while Yuma police investigated the incident.
Yuma Police Department Sgt. Lori Franklin said that the incident happened at about 8:40 a.m. as the two students were walking to the school, located in the 2800 block of South 8th Avenue. She added that there were no injuries.
“The students may have came across a burglary in progress,” Franklin said.
The two students told police officers that while on their way to school, they saw a man standing by a brick wall, and another man jump back over it from a residential yard.
That is when the man who jumped over the fence, now identified as 24-yearold Christopher Young, allegedly brandished a knife toward the students and threatened them not to say anything about what they had seen, Franklin said.
The students, however, ran away and immediately reported the incident to a school crossing guard. When Yuma police arrived on scene, officers obtained a description of the two suspects and began canvasing the area. About two blocks away from where the incident occurred, two male suspects matching the descriptions were located and later positively identified as the men at the wall.
Franklin said Young was arrested on felony charges of aggravated assault, interference or disruption of an educational institution and endangerment. He also faces misdemeanor charges of obstruction and an attempted drug paraphernalia vioation. Young remains in custody at Yuma County jail on a $50,000 bond.
The second suspect, who was allegedly found in possession of drugs, was released. Charges against him are being forwarded to the County Attorney’s Office for review. If a complaint is filed against him, he will receive a summons to appear in court.