TROTWOOD — Parents and teachers did not expect to spend their last day before the holiday break on lockdown.
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Stephanie Chambers had left Trotwood Preparatory and Fitness Academy to pick up pizza for her first-grade class.
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“We were going to have a big celebration,” Chambers said.
She later learned that her school had been placed on lockdown due to a barricaded suspect in an apartment complex nearby off Bellcreek Lane.
Chambers was emotional as she thought about her students inside who she couldn’t comfort.
“I’m thinking of what they might be going through, I don’t want them to be scared especially since they don’t understand the gravity of what’s going on,” she said.
She is proud of her students for following directions and remembering what they practiced during lockdown drills.
“As soon as I get a chance … I want them to see my face ‘you all did good,’” Chambers said.
Amber Snyder has two children who attend the charter school.
She said a friend contacted her about the school being on lockdown, then got a text from the principal saying students were safe and being held in the auditorium.
“It’s really scary, you don’t know if they are going to come over, you don’t know if your kids are freaking out in there,” Snyder said.
She tried to call the school but said she wasn’t able to reach anyone, which added to her anxiety.
“I know nothing,” she said. “I’ve been here for over an hour.”
News Center 7′s Malik Patteson asked Snyder what she was going to do when she saw her kids.
“Hug them! Hold them tightly, very tightly,” she said.
The SWAT stand-off ended after the suspect was found dead inside his apartment, also ending the school’s lockdown.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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