Man dies in officer-involved shooting outside Walnut Park Elementary School

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has taken over an investigation into the fatal police shooting Thursday morning of a man outside Walnut Park Elementary School in Gadsden.

Etowah County Coroner London Pearce identified the deceased as Robert Tyler White, 32. He said the man lived in the Gadsden area; however, a news release Thursday afternoon from ALEA listed him as being from Bunnlevel, North Carolina.

Officials say the man tried to get into the school through several doors, but all were locked. His motives for trying to get into the school were not known, and school and law enforcement officials alike were praising the reaction to the incident: The would-be intruder never made it into the school, and the only substantial harm was suffered by him.

Here's what happened, according to law enforcement and school officials.

Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton said his office responded to a call that came at about 9:30 a.m. He said someone passing the school reported seeing someone trying to enter cars or the school, and thought it just didn't look right. A non-emergency call was made to Attalla police, Horton said, and relayed.

Gadsden City Schools Superintendent Tony Reddick said the man tried to get into the school through several doors. "We were blessed," he said.

Teachers in the system have been drilled on keeping school doors locked, and students have been drilled about never opening a door to anyone, even if they look like they belong at the school.

A Rainbow City police officer was at the school as a school resource officer, Horton said. He came out and confronted the suspect, and they scuffled. At some point the officer called for backup.

Horton said he got to the scene about 5 minutes after the call, and multiple agencies were already there.

The suspect was fatally shot during the incident.

The Rainbow City officer suffered minor injuries, according to Horton.

From information provided so far, the suspect did not have a weapon. However, Etowah County District Attorney Jody Willoughby said the man apparently tried to get the officer's gun during their altercation.

ALEA confirmed that in a statement Thursday afternoon: "An individual was attempting to make forcible entry into a marked Rainbow City patrol vehicle at which point a School Resource Officer with the Rainbow City Police Department attempted to stop the subject," according to ALEA. "The subject resisted and attempted to take the officer’s firearm.

"Additional officers from the Gadsden Police Department responded to the scene to provide assistance. The subject was injured by gunfire and was pronounced deceased," ALEA said.

Special agents with the State Bureau of Investigation will turn the finding of their investigation over to the district attorney's office.

The public became aware quickly that something was going on. Gadsden-Etowah County Emergency Management Agency advised people in Facebook posts about 10 a.m. to avoid the area because of an "ongoing police incident." The Etowah County Sheriff's Office sent out an alert at 10:03 a.m. and it was shared by the Walnut Park Community Watch program.

All children at the school were reported safe. In addition to the literacy camp students, about 22 children in a Parks and Recreation summer camp were also on the campus. School students were taken by bus to Gadsden City High School. Reddick estimated they were reunited with parents in about 20 minutes' time.

"The students didn't have a clue," Reddick said, about the incident. They were in another part of the building, and Principal Kristen Woods and reading coach Alison Correll kept curious staff members away from the area where the incident occurred. He said one teacher might have witnessed some of the confrontation.

Reddick said the school system contacted a parent of each child in the literacy camp. He said the system will be looking at what to do to continue the camp.

For the time being, it won't be at Walnut Park, he said, to allow law enforcement to freely investigate.

The school had prepared physically for such incidents, with door locks, cameras and staff training about keeping unauthorized people out, Reddick said. The staffs and students are trained in how to respond. He said these students had been safety training already this week.

"They were actually excited about exercising what they had learned," the superintendent said.

Horton said the staff and law enforcement officers responded perfectly to the situation. Still, as good as the response was, he said it will be studied to see if there are ways it could have been better.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Police incident at Walnut Park School