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STUART, Florida (WPBF) -- A Treasure Coast high school was locked down Tuesday morning after a teacher spotted a strange man walking across campus carrying an unidentified object in his hand.
“The teacher saw what he thought was a suspicious person that wasn’t supposed to be on campus, an older man carrying what he described as a guitar case,” said Major Ruben Romero, of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Romero said the teacher had just arrived at Martin County High School shortly before 8 a.m. when he saw the man.
Not knowing who the man was or what he was carrying, the teacher activated the school district’s emergency system, Centegix CrisisAlert.
It was installed in all schools in the district in 2021.
Every staff member carries a card with a button on it.
All the employee has to do is push the button to lock down the school and contact law enforcement.
“Basically, what that does is that alerts our entire county that there’s a problem on one of our campuses,” Romero said.
Romero said dozens of deputies were at the school in a matter of minutes.
They quickly apprehended a man they’ve identified as Jeremy Scappaticcio and charged him with trespassing on school property.
Romero said Scappaticcio was clearly intoxicated.
“He just basically seemed a little confused,” Romero said. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, I just made the wrong turn, made the wrong choice.’ He knew he was in the wrong by cutting through the school campus.”
The guitar case the teacher saw turned out to be an actual guitar.
Investigators said Scappaticcio did not have a weapon, and the students and staff appear to have never been in any danger.
Moreno calls the teacher a hero for being alert enough to notice the stranger on campus and aware enough to activate the alert system.
“We don’t know what anybody’s intent is when they’re near a school or what’s going on,” Moreno said. “So, our response is always going to be the same. We’re going to treat it high priority, and we’re going to respond and make sure the scene is safe.”
