GREENSBORO, N.C. — A suspect is behind bars after police said he broke into Irving Park Elementary School with a long gun, leaving Guilford County School (GCS) parents concerned about safety.
Although the parents are pleased to know the suspect is in custody, they are left wondering how he got into the school and what he was planning to do.
"It was disturbing, but the fact that the law did its thing, actually got him in custody and hopefully prosecuted him as he's supposed to be, and we can move forward. Hopefully, this unfortunate situation won't happen again," said Irving Park Elementary School parent, Oscar Williams.
On April 13, Greensboro police said they responded to a call about a burglary alarm at the elementary school. As police responded, an officer canvassed the school while the principal reviewed security footage.
While looking through the security footage, the principal caught a man walking inside with a long gun and his car on school property.
"It was just upsetting to hear the news that something like that happened at our school. You always see it on the news somewhere else but never here. So, it's just upsetting to see that it's in your community," Irving Park Elementary School parent Daniel Knight shared.
Detectives identified the suspect as 26-year-old Jonathan Coley. When officers found Coley, they also found drugs and more guns.
Police have since charged Coley with:
- Felony possession of a gun on educational property
- Felony possession of marijuana
- Felony: maintaining a dwelling/vehicle for controlled substance
- Misdemeanor: breaking or entering
- Misdemeanor: possessing Marijuana Paraphernalia
Parents are relieved to know the suspect was charged. However, they still want to know what his intentions were.
"Maybe he was there to vandalize or steal because it was on a Saturday. I guess he could have been casing it, seeing the easiest ways in and out, if he did want to come back in," Knight added.
As of Monday morning, police said Coley is in jail under a $25,000 bond.
Guilford County Schools released the following statement since the break-in.
Greensboro Police and Guilford County Schools are investigating a matter in which an individual broke into Irving Park Elementary on Saturday, April 13.
The safety of our students and staff is our utmost concern. This is an ongoing investigation, and the district is collaborating with law enforcement. Please refer to the Greensboro Police Department for further information.
We reached out to GCS to get more information about their security protocols, they denied our request to interview the security director. The school system referred our questions to GPD. GPD said they have released all the information they can right now.