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CARJACKING ATTEMPTED AT HAZELWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL
Hazelwood Middle School Staff Praised For Actions During Attempted Carjacking
Staff members at Hazelwood Southeast Middle School are being applauded after they were able to quickly lock down the school when an attempted carjacking took place on the campus parking lot. The attempted carjacking failed and the assailant fled the campus. Luckily, no one was hurt.
As students and faculty began their Monday morning, administrators noticed an unknown suspicious male in the parking lot with what appeared to be a handgun. As a safety precaution, the school was immediately placed on lockdown for approximately two hours while St. Louis County Police investigated. Parents were immediately notified, Southeast Middle School staff, School Resource Officers, and District security kept students safe and handled the matter as quickly as possible.
The district sent out three robo-calls to parents keeping them updated throughout the day. “We wanted to provide real-time updates that all students were safe. We needed to be very transparent,” said Chauncey Granger, principal of Southeast Middle School.
The lockdown did not set a negative tone for the rest of day. Instead, the positive and quick response from staff did. “I would like to thank Eric Arbetter, assistant superintendent, the district communications department, the district safety and security department, and our school resource officers for their support throughout the day,” said Granger.
“I have received a lot of positive feedback from parents in the form of telephone calls, texts, and emails. They really appreciate the detail in each call keeping them informed. As a special appreciation for their cooperation, all Southeast Middle School students were allowed to dress down or out of uniform on Tuesday, just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
“ As I reflect on this season of giving thanks, I am grateful for my quick responding staff and colleagues for their diligence and support, and of course, for the entire Southeast Middle School community for their ongoing support of our school,” said Granger.
