« | Main | Personal Savings at Depression Levels »
January 31, 2007
Former Chicoan Captures School Hostage Takers
January 30, 2007 - STOCKTON - In what can only be termed a bizzare event, two women entered the school campus through a hole in the security fence and then walked into a classroom at Harrison Elementary School on Monday morning. One of the women then brandished a gravity knife and threatened an assistant teacher when
she tried to flee. The knife weilding woman held 3 adults and 10 children hostage inside the classroom for several minutes while she ranted and pulled open classroom drawers, looking for scissors. During the ordeal the suspect threatened to kill school employees and said, "Somebody is going to die". One of the three school employees then made a second attempt to escape which succeeded, but not before she was chased a short distance by the suspect.
A 9-1-1 call was then placed by school officials. The assailant and her unidentified adult companion left the classroom moments after the 9-1-1 call was placed.
Police Officer Ken Lee, (formerly of Chico) was the first officer on the scene and arrived about a minute after the call for help was placed. The suspects were pointed out by school officials and he immediately stopped them in nearby parking lot where they were trying to leave in a vehicle. One of the suspects, Terri L. Hernandez, 45, violently resisted arrest and had to be forcibly removed from her vehicle and handcuffed. She was placed in a patrol vehicle where she screamed obscenities and said repeatedly, "Why don't you just shoot me?!" She kicked at the windows and tore at the inside door panel. Although she was tightly handcuffed, she used such force that she was able to pull her hands out of the cuffs and had to be re-handcuffed.
She was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, robbery, kidnapping, child endangerment and vandalism. No one at the school was hurt, although several employees were visibly shaken. Police suspect that drugs may have played a role in this bizzare event.
Another Stockton school was the scene of a mass murder in 1987 when 35 children were shot by Patrick Purdy with an AK-47, five students died. This no doubt was in the back of Officer Lees mind as he was dispatched to the "hostage call", not knowing what he was about to encounter. Lee later said he was glad it ended quickly without any significant injuries and the woman with the knife was now safely behind bars. Lee is a graduate of the Butte College Police Academy and is one of about a dozen Stockton officers specially trained to respond to hostage or shooting incidents where school children maybe be at risk.
Officer Lee was also in the news recently for stopping a major commercial burglary ring. He was twice honored for his stolen car recoveries by the California Highway Patrol in 2006 and 2005 and served on the CHP auto theft taskforce.
Posted by Post Scripts at January 31, 2007 09:13 AM
Comments
OUTSTANDING!
What a proud dad you must Jack.
Posted by: Anthony Watts at January 31, 2007 07:20 PM
Another unsung hero...let him find thanks and support here. You're a great dad, Jack and you obviously passed something valuable on to this fine man...good on both of you.
Posted by: Tina at February 1, 2007 09:28 AM
Thank you Anthony and Tina for those kind words. I will pass them on.
My son, we call him Buzz, is a cop in a real tough city and consequently he often gets into challenging, if not life threatening situations, doing what he simply calls his job.
That gives us a sense of pride for sure, but at times it's also a genuine cause for concern!!
I'm sure every parent worries about their kids and that's just life. But, today's parents with a son or daughter in the military or law enforcement also know the risks have never been greater, because world is filled with way too many crazies that would do their worst given the slightest opportunity.
So, we try to balance our concerns with the fact that all the civilized world has that separates us from those crazies is our kids manning that thin line between peace and chaos. Which might sound kind of overly dramatic, I know, but it's really true.
Needless to say, I'm proud of all of them too.
Posted by: Jack at February 1, 2007 11:08 AM
Which might sound kind of overly dramatic
It only sounds overly dramatic when your safe at home in front of the tube eating popcorn and getting a giggle out of your favorite sitcom...it's quite different for the person who gets that phone call and the world comes crashing in... we would be wise to keep some real world perspective in our relatively easy and safe lives. Appreciation and gratitude, and a sense of how prescious that safe space is and why, is important.
Posted by: Tina at February 1, 2007 08:06 PM