Dade County Schools to Reopen Thursday; Ingle Explains Decisions During Michaels Road Manhunt

Dade County Schools will reopen Thursday and return to normal operations after Superintendent Josh Ingle says safety concerns surrounding Tuesday’s shooting and hours-long manhunt on Sand Mountain led to Wednesday’s systemwide closure.

Ingle joined K-WIN Wednesday morning to explain how school officials responded as the situation unfolded near Michaels Road and why the decision was made to cancel classes before the suspect was captured Tuesday night.

“We always want to err on the side of safety,” Ingle said.

Davis Elementary Placed on Heightened Lockdown

Ingle said district administrators were holding a leadership team meeting Tuesday when they learned about the shooting in the Michaels Road area, which he said was approximately three to four miles from Davis Elementary School.

At approximately 11:19 a.m., Davis Elementary was moved to what the district calls a “Code Yellow.”

Students continued normal operations inside the school, but children were not allowed outside on the playground.

Visitors were also restricted. Ingle said visitors were allowed inside one at a time and were escorted to and from the office by a school resource officer or administrator.

Information available to school officials at the time indicated the person being sought was believed to be moving west or southwest toward Alabama.

Ingle said schools in the valley were not considered threatened and officials did not believe there was a direct threat to Davis Elementary, but the situation was “just too close for comfort.”

Buses Did Not Run on Sand Mountain

As Tuesday afternoon dismissal approached and the search continued, the school system decided not to run buses on Sand Mountain.

Middle and high school students who lived on Sand Mountain were instead transported to Davis Elementary, which served as a reunification location where parents and guardians could pick them up.

Ingle said the final student at Davis Elementary was picked up at 4:39 p.m.

Decision to Close Made Before Suspect Captured

As Tuesday evening continued with the suspect still at large, Ingle said he had to determine whether buses should begin running before daylight Wednesday morning.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable with our kids walking to the buses at night when it was still dark,” Ingle told K-WIN.

At 8:29 p.m., Ingle sent out the announcement that Dade County Schools would be closed Wednesday.

At the time that decision was made, Ingle said he had no knowledge that the suspect had been captured.

Ingle said Sheriff Ray Cross and Officer Lawson called him at approximately 9:14 p.m. to notify him that the suspect was in custody.

By then, families had already been notified of the closure.

Ingle said school officials decided not to reverse course because parents were already making arrangements for their children and changing the decision could have created additional confusion.

He said members of the Dade County Board of Education supported the decision.

Schools Return Thursday

Ingle said his leadership team planned to meet Wednesday to review how the district responded to the incident, including what worked and what could be improved if a similar emergency occurs in the future.

Dade County Schools will reopen Thursday with normal operations.

Thursday evening’s homecoming activities are also scheduled to continue.

Ingle said lineup for the homecoming parade begins at 6 p.m. at the Bank of Dade, with the parade beginning at 7 p.m. A bonfire is scheduled shortly after the parade at Dade Elementary School.

Ingle Praises Multi-Agency Response

During the K-WIN interview, Ingle also praised the large number of law enforcement agencies that came into Dade County to assist with the search.

He said that as a Dade County resident, it was reassuring to see agencies from surrounding counties and neighboring states working together through mutual aid.

The suspect was taken into custody Tuesday night, ending the search that had continued for much of the day.