A teenager is facing charges after exposing himself, chasing students and jumping on cars at Somerset College Preparatory Academy on Wednesday, according to Port St. Lucie police.
Arriving officers said they later learned the 18-year-old suspect had approached students outside of the school, had urinated on the ground, spoke in an unintelligible manner, was yelling and swearing and, at one point, took off his shorts.
"He was making gun shapes with his fingers as he approached the kids," said Port St. Lucie Police Chief John Bolduc.
They said he threatened to hurt Somerset's principal who confronted him and that he attacked the car of another school staff member.
The principal contacted an off-duty Port St. Lucie Police school safety officer who coaches after-school activities. Police said he fled when the officer confronted him.
Other officers began a search and found him, but not before he threw a rock at one of them, police said.
No one was injured, according to investigators.
"You have somebody walking onto a campus and confronting students, and given the atmosphere we are in, it's very serious," said Chief Bolduc.
Police have charged the teenager with battery, indecent exposure, and trespassing on school grounds.
"I know my son was a little apprehensive to come today, and I reassured him the school would make sure he's safe," said Allison Petronella, a mother of a student.
Police said the school did the right thing. They got students inside quickly and went into lockdown.
On the school Facebook page, the principal acknowledges what happened and stressed the importance of safety drills. It also went on to say, "please hug your babies a little closer tonight."
Officers booked him into the St. Lucie County Jail.
The police chief said a couple hours after they made the arrest, a group home reported the teenager missing. Police would not say what type of home it is.
