The Vineyard Montessori School performed a “lock up” procedure today around noon due to reports of a mental health incident occurring on nearby Daggett Ave, according to school officials.
The incident, which occurred around 12:15 pm, caused the local school to perform the drill as a precautionary measure.
At Vineyard Montessori, a lock-up is different from a lockdown, Debbie Jernagan, head of school, said. A lockdown is performed for someone on the property, and a lock-up, for someone within the vicinity of the school’s property.
The school heard about the incident from Tisbury Police Sgt. Max Sherman. Sherman works with the school and informs them when and where an incident occurs and recommends a course of action, Jernagan said.
“We have an officer assigned to our school who’s our support person and who calls us when something happens,” Jernagan said. “He tells us what to do, and where it is so that we know.”
“He said we should go inside and not have outside recess. We followed our lockout procedures and informed parents,” she added.
Jernagan said a lock-up consists of calmly bringing the children inside, drawing the shades, and locking the door. Today, it lasted until a little after 12:30 pm.
“We’ve been practicing it for so long that we just go into that procedure, and we work really well with Max at the Tisbury Police Department,” Jernegan said. “For something that could be a scary situation, it went smoothly here, and we feel confident in the safety of our children.”
Tisbury Police Lt. Bill Brigham said the apprehension went smoothly on Daggett Ave, which is less than a mile from the school.
“No weapons and the individual cooperated and was transported to the hospital to receive care,” Brigham said.
Brigham said there were no charges filed and declined to provide further details about the incident, saying it’s “protected information.”
