Trespasser inside Baldwinsville high school for thirty minutes, had 'no ill intent'

A 25-year-old man was inside C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville for about thirty minutes before staff interacted with him, according to Baldwinsville Police Chief Michael Lefancheck.

On Monday, the Baldwinsville Central School District placed the high school on lockdown and the other nearby schools on lock-outs due to a "suspicious person" making it inside the high school. Baker was on lock down for several hours, with students still inside not dismissed until after 5 p.m. The bulk of the student body had left at normal time; those left behind in the lock down were there for after school extra curriculars.

Nora Carson, a neighbor in the area, said the intersection at Virginia Street and E. Oneida Street marking the entrance to the district campus was filled with anxious parents for two hours Monday afternoon. They were unable to enter the campus, initially provided with little information.

"It was almost frantic," Carson said, "they didn't know what was going on."

That person was later arrested and identified as Jack Grippe, who police now believe had no ill intent. Chief Lefancheck said that he is a graduate of the high school, returning to the campus on Monday with a basketball in hand because he told police he was feeling "nostalgic."

Chief Lefancheck said that he entered during dismissal time, allowing him to go past students and through the doors as others were exiting. District spokesperson Sarah Buckshot said that he went through a side door that is not monitored by staff; she said that these doors are locked at all times from the outside and he was only able to access the building that way because students were flowing out that door. While students are allowed to do so, Buckshot said the district encourages students to use the main entrance to leave for the day and reminded students to never allow someone to enter through a side door.

Lefancheck said that based on surveillance footage and the interview with Grippe, he first tried to go to the gym but found the doors lock. From there he used the restroom, walking around the school for about thirty minutes. At that point, Lefancheck said, staff members spoke to him and took him to the main office.

According Buckshot, Grippe lied to multiple people inside the high school about who he was, claiming that he was a new transfer student. Once he was taken to that main office, Lefancheck said that an administrator explained to the man that they would have to contact police, and he got nervous and ran. This prompted the lock down response from the district.

Later that evening. Lefancheck's officers located and arrested Grippe, charging him with trespassing before releasing him on his own recognizance. He's due to appear in village court on October 16. Lefancheck said that police searched his car and place of residence, finding no further evidence that the man intended to cause harm and no access to weaponry.

Buckshot confirmed that Grippe called each individual school on Tuesday to apologize for any panic caused. He is now banned from district property.

On Sept. 26 during a public hearing, district personnel discussed hiring a private unarmed security guard from Arrow Security to help monitor the main entrance. Right now, as they did last school year, staff members are charged with monitoring that entrance; the district was unable to hire a sentry at the start of the school year.

Buckshot confirmed that a School Resource Officer, staffed via the Baldwinsville Police Department, is on hand at each individual school in the district this year.