Intruder barges into class, tries to grab student, CA cops say. Then teacher steps in
A teacher thwarted an intruder’s attempt to kidnap a student from a high school classroom, California police say.
Sequoia High School staff contacted police at about 2 p.m. Thursday, July 18, to report a man had “entered a classroom,” the Redwood City Police Department said in a Facebook post.
The school was in session for summer school, according to Sequoia Union High School District’s website.
The man grabbed a student and tried to pull him from the classroom, police said.
However, a teacher “physically intervened,” and the man fled, according to police.
As he left, the man, later identified as Trey Duus, 24, warned staff “not to touch him,” saying he had a gun, police said.
The school was put on lockdown as officers searched for Duus, police said.
Officers spotted Duus as he left the school while holding an object that was later determined to be an umbrella, police said.
Duus was detained using “less-lethal force options” after he resisted officers, police said.
He was taken to a hospital for minor injuries, according to police.
Through investigation, police said officers learned that as Duss was fleeing, he “punched a hole in a bathroom wall” and stole a printer cartridge.
The school district did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on July 19.
The district alerted families of the incident, stating that “in an abundance of caution, students and staff were directed to stay in classrooms during [the incident],” The Almanac reported.
“We are grateful for our students’ cooperation, the swift action of our security team and summer school staff, and the strong partnership with RCPD,” the district said, according to the newspaper.
The district added that classes would resume the next day, the newspaper reported.
After being cleared to leave the hospital, Duus was booked into jail on multiple counts, including “attempted kidnapping, burglary, child endangerment, obstructing officers, vandalism, and trespassing on school grounds.”
He is expected to appear in court July 19, online jail records show.
Redwood City is about a 30-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.
This story was originally published July 19, 2024 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Intruder barges into class, tries to grab student, CA cops say. Then teacher steps in."
