Police: Man arrested outside Glendale school was simulating, pointing weapon at passing cars
A man was arrested Friday after he allegedly simulated a weapon at passing cars outside Glenoaks Elementary School and then tried unsuccessfully to enter the campus, police said.
The man, whose name wasn’t immediately available, was arrested on Glenoaks Boulevard at the Glendale (2) Freeway underpass after leading police on a foot pursuit while shedding layers of clothing, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.
No weapons were found, he added.
A school official confirmed the man’s child was enrolled at the campus.
Police received calls from witnesses who saw the man standing outside the school in the 2000 block of East Glenoaks Boulevard as he simulated a weapon and pointed it at passing cars.
The school principal confronted the man, who tried to enter through the school’s secured chain-link fence, Lorenz said.
“He was trying to access the campus,” he said. “He was being hostile to school staff.”
But the school was already secured and the campus was under lock down, he added.
As police responded, the man ran away, prompting the foot chase, Lorenz said.
As police gave chase, the man stripped off a baseball cap, jackets, other clothing items and his shoes before he was eventually stopped and arrested.
A Glendale police officer suffered a broken wrist during the incident and was transported to Glendale Adventist Medical Center for treatment, Lorenz said.
Police detectives are still investigating who the man is and why he was outside the school.
The man will be evaluated to determine if he was under the influence of any drugs, or has any other medical or mental issues, Lorenz said.
The incident occurred as school officials across the region remained on heightened alert on the one week anniversary of the deadly mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 first-graders were gunned down.
Kelly Corrigan contributed reporting.
-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News
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