SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — West Scranton High School was on high alert Tuesday after an incident forced the school into lockdown. Police say two teenagers have been arrested for trespassing.
Tuesday's lockdown at West Scranton High School is a reminder of how important security measures and lockdown drills are in today's world.
"The very first thing was ensuring the safety of my students and staff," said West Scranton High School Principal Renee Stevens.
Two West Scranton alumni, Jaelah Royce, and Jean Almonte Rosario, snuck in with a group of students returning from the Career Technology Center which caused the building to be put on lockdown once their entry was discovered.
Two arrested after allegedly trespassing at Scranton high school
"I, along with our School Safety Officers, and the School Resource Officers, and additional officers from Scranton Police Department, began working on investigating, checking classrooms, and things in that nature," Scranton School District Supervisor of Safety and Security Kevin Kearney said.
Police say the pair left while the lockdown was in place. They were later arrested and now face criminal trespass charges.
"We drill these scenarios all of the time, we practice with our kids we practice with our staff and what happened yesterday and the response from students and staff really, just demonstrate how those drills have been effective because nobody had to think it was muscle memory," Stevens explained.
The Scranton School District stresses that safety is their top priority.
"It is a terrible situation to go through, unfortunately, it's the time we live in right now, we will always take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the health, the safety, and the welfare of the students and the staff in that building," said Scranton School District Superintendent Doctor Erin Keating.
They say they're constantly evolving their security measures to adapt to new challenges.
"Every situation allows you to look critically on what happened, and to make necessary adjustments to make things better for the future," Dr. Keating explained.
Dr. Keating also stressed to 28/22 News that no one should ever enter a school without going through the proper protocols.
Royce and Rosario both face criminal trespass charges and their intentions are being investigated.
