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Burglary leads to school lockdowns

By TIMES STAFF WRITER
Published October 5, 2006

TAMPA - As Lisa Fanaro escorted her 5-year-old son to Westchase Elementary School Wednesday morning for National Walk to School Day, she looked around at the other families and thought, "What a lovely community we live in."

Eight hours later, Fanaro changed her mind.

Her son, Jackson, was among more than 1,200 children who were bused to Alonso High School Wednesday afternoon after officials ordered their campuses locked down during a police search for three men who tried to break into a home near their schools.

Thoughts of the recent school shootings across the country produced a long and anxious line of parents who rushed to Alonso to find their children.

"What a different feeling from this morning," Fanaro said as police and news helicopters hovered overhead. "You think and hope that your children are safe in school."

The incident began about 11:40 a.m. when the owner of a home on Wandsworth Drive in Westchase found three men trying to break in, sheriff's officials said.

The men drove away in a red minivan and abandoned it behind Westchase Elementary, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. A teacher reported seeing one of the men running onto campus, prompting Westchase and nearby Davidsen Middle School to go into lockdown mode, which means all doors are locked and students are prohibited from moving between classes.

When Westchase let out at 2:15 p.m., administrators and teachers escorted students to buses, where they were taken to Alonso High, about 5 miles away, clearing the area for the police investigation. No suspects were found Wednesday.

Meanwhile, at Lowry Elementary School, students who live in the Westchase area were also bused to Alonso. By then, some parents had heard the news and were already on their way to the high school. But others had nervous moments when their child's bus did not show up.

Joshua Adams was among them. He waited for his 5-year-old daughter Zoie's bus for about 10 minutes before growing worried.

Soon after, a co-worker told Adams that something had happened at the school. He called and the line was busy.

"I was very concerned," he said.

Zoie's teacher reached Adams and instructed him to pick her up at Alonso, a chaotic scene of kids, cars, parents, cell phones, walkie-talkies and administrators.

Inside the Alonso gym, children ran up and down bleachers or sat in circles waiting for their parents.

Teachers at the gym entrance directed parents to tables where they signed their children out.

Meanwhile, at Davidsen Middle, the lockdown was lifted about an hour before school let out at 4 p.m.

"It's a very sensitive time that we're living in right now," said Steve Hegarty, a spokesman for the Hillsborough school district. "We have situations with different factors, and we make decisions based on that, and none of them are convenient."

Alonso High School principal Lou Diaz praised his students for leaving campus promptly and his teachers for staying behind to help with the reunions.

"The parents are nervous, as well they should be (given recent events)," Diaz said. "But everyone has worked well together and the students are safe."

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

[Last modified October 5, 2006, 01:09:33]