Police in Orange took a man into custody and charged him with making terroristic threats at a school in the city on Thursday morning.
According to a preliminary investigation, the unidentified male arrived at the Lincoln Avenue School just before 8:30 a.m. and attempted to gain access after telling the security guard that he was making a delivery of food to a staff member.
The alert security officer denied the man access into the building after becoming suspicious of his behavior according to reports.
Police say the suspect became irate and began to use profanity at the security officer, then, allegedly, shouting that he would "shoot the school up."
According to a letter sent home to parents by Lincoln Avenue Elementary School Principal Mr. Frank Iannucci, administrators placed the building on lockdown due to the security concern.
"Our school is committed to the safety and education of all our students and staff. We also want to clearly communicate with parents about safety issues when they arrive," according to an end statement parents received from Principal Iannucci.
According to several parents, the security message communicated by Principal Iannucci was only received after they spotted the letter inside their children's homework folder.
"I knew nothing about a lockdown or a threat until I found this letter buried in the homework folder," one of the parents said.
Orange Police swift cleared the building -declared it safe- and took control of the incident according to reports. No weapon was located.
Officials say they have encountered the suspect before and believe that he suffers from emotional distress. They could not confirm if the suspect knew anyone inside the Lincoln Avenue Elementary School building.
The investigation remains active.