newsupdate man with knife not gun faces charges in shenandoah elementary school scare
Virginia

Update: Man with knife, not gun, faces charges in Shenandoah Elementary School scare

Chris Graham
police crime scene
(© Prathaan – stock.adobe.com)

A 46-year-old man faces a misdemeanor charge after an incident on Thursday in which it was originally thought that there was a man on the grounds of Shenandoah Elementary School in Page County with a gun.

Page County Sheriff Chad Cubbage told reporters Thursday afternoon that Thomas Benjamin Loving, 46, has been charged with a misdemeanor count of carrying a knife on school grounds.

Emergency protocols were enacted at around 10:30 a.m. Thursday in response to a report that there was a man with a gun on his side standing across from the school. Staff, no doubt edgy in the wake of a school shooting earlier this week in Nashville that killed six, put the school on lockdown and called 911.

At the direction of law enforcement, students were then removed from classrooms and taken to the school’s auditorium. From the auditorium, students were transported to a site off campus and released to their parents and guardians

As law enforcement conducted a sweep of the building, an individual matching the description of the suspect was found, questioned and detained. Through additional investigation, it was determined that at no time was a gun present or on school property.

What initially appeared to be a holster was actually a knife sheath on the individual’s side.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris has won 17 Virginia Press Association awards for his work as an investigative reporter, feature writer and columnist. Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, both published in 2019, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to my YouTube page, youtube.com/chrisgrahamAFP. Want to reach Chris? Try [email protected].