Update 4:34 p.m.:
Superintendent of Schools Stephen Falcone said Wednesday's announcement of a delay for elementary schools occurred later than usual, but shortly after the school district was informed of the police hunt for an armed man in town.
"We had gotten word at 7:10, 7:15 [a.m.]," Falcone said late Wednesday afternoon. School officials knew the search for the man was near Tokeneke School, not any of the other elementary schools, but he put all the schools on a delay to be on the safe side, he said.
The Middle School and High School were put on a lockdown rather than a delay because students were already in transit to those schools, he said.
Bus drivers picked up some students, Falcone said -- he thought that was for students going to Royle School -- and some of them improperly drove the kids back home, he said. They're supposed to take them to the school, where adults can supervise them, he said.
Patch reader Chris complained in the comments section about chaotic conditions at Royle School when parents arrived to drop off their children. Falcone said the situation may have been exacerbated by the late announcement, but that every time school is delayed, for whatever reason, some confusion can be expected when parents arrive at the regular time to drop off their children.
"At, like, 8 o'clock-ish we got the call that Code Red was lifted," Falcone said. The lockdowns were then lifted at Darien High School and Middlesex Middle School by 8:05 a.m.
"Ideally, you like to get the word out nice and early," Falcone said. "Based on when we got word, we got those [notifications] out as quickly as we could, but people might've missed that for a variety of reasons."
Falcone said that school district officials often review actions like this morning's "to see what have we learned in this situation and how can we make things better," and officials will be doing a "debriefing" with police and IT officials.
Update 2:24 p.m.:
A state police spokesman had a bit more information about the incident early this afternoon, but not much.
A 911 call was made to police about a black man with a gun at the Darien northbound-lanes rest stop at 6:38 a.m., said Capt. Thomas Garbedian. He had no clearer description of the subject (height, size, rough age, clothing) or how the gun was seen or whether or not it was held by the man.
A state trooper one exit away was able to get to the rest stop quickly, but a look around didn't turn up a man with a gun, and a few people the trooper asked at the scene said they hadn't noticed a man with a gun.
Shortly afterward—Garbedian didn't have the time—a Metro-North employee told police he saw a man on the railroad tracks in Darien near Norwalk (Garbedian again had no details on the description).
Three officers with canines were part of the search for the man, and two of them left the scene at about 7:45 a.m., which may have been the time the search was called off, Garbedian said, although he couldn't confirm that.
Darien police were notified and cordoned off the area, and MTA police were also notified, Garbedian said.
State police at the Troop G Barracks planned to review video surveillance tapes from the rest stop, Garbedian said.
Update 10:16 a.m., revised at 10:20 a.m.:
The search for an armed man in Darien was over and done with by the time most news organizations even knew the hunt was on, although it involved state police, Darien and Norwalk police and Metro-North police.
That's because no police agency sent out an email or any other notice to news organizations until later in the morning. The first email from Darien police to news organizations was sent out at 8:58 a.m. (from Capt. Frederick Komm, saying the search was over in Darien and that Connecticut State Police was the agency to go to for more information). The department's Facebook pages had much more information posted, some of it as early as 7:39 a.m., saying the search was on and residents were being asked to stay indoors.
[Update 10:20 a.m.: At 8:08 a.m., Darien police posted on their Facebook pages that the search was over.]
As late as 10:10 a.m., one news organization still had an article posted saying police were advising residents to keep their doors locked as police searched for a man near the Tokeneke section of town.
State police are the lead agency in the incident involving multiple police agencies, and traditionally other departments defer to the public information officers of the lead agency to announce information, as Darien's Capt. Frederick Komm did.
But as of this update, state police have not responded to a request for information from Darien Patch, and no announcement about the matter has appeared on the state police website.
A Red Alert reverse-911 call reportedly was sent out to Darien residents this morning, and Darien Public Schools sent out emails to parents and others signed up to its email alert system at 8:44 a.m. with an update at 9:55 a.m.
Update 9:43 a.m.:
Fifteen Metro-North trains on the New Haven line were delayed by up to 15 minutes between 7:59 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. as a result of the search for a possibly armed man on the tracks in Darien and Norwalk, a Metro-North spokesman said.
While there may still be some residual delays from the disruption in train service Wednesday morning, "things are moving back to normal now," said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the railroad.
Donovan said he was unaware of reports that a Metro-North employee had alerted state police to a man wearing camoflage shorts on the tracks, as Darien police have reported. Metro-North's delays and assistance to state police were at the request of state police, Donovan said.
Update 9:23 a.m.:
Darien Public Schools posted on its website this notice about school lockdowns and delays:
"This morning, the Darien Police informed us through a Code Red Alert that an armed man was seen walking in the area of Tokeneke Road.
"At approximately 7:25 am, a decision was made to put Darien High School and Middlesex Middle School on lockout.
"It was also determined that all elementary schools would operate on a 90-minute delay. We believed that it would be best not having students waiting for buses or walking to school when there was a fugitive at large in the town.
"Shortly after 8:00 am, a follow-up Code Red message was received. At that time, we were informed by the Darien Police that Darien was “all clear” and the lockout could be lifted.
"All elementary schools will be in session, but on a 90-minute delay. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding."
Update 9:17 a.m.:
Correction, 10:30 a.m.: This Facebook posting was on the Norwalk Police Facebook pages [at 8:27 a.m.], not Darien police, as originally reported:
Norwalk police posted this announcement on the department's Facebook page:
"Darien Incident Update: At about 7:00am Connecticut State Police received a report of a male with a handgun in the bathroom at the Darien I-95 Rest Stop. Officers responded but did not locate anyone.
"A Metro North worker reported a black male with camo shorts on the train tracks near the Darien/Norwalk line. A search was conducted with a police canine towards Norwalk, and Norwalk officers also set up a perimeter of the train tracks ahead of the canine track, and no suspect was located or observed.
"The search was ended with nothing found. Officers have also checked Rowayton and South Norwalk stations as well as the surrounding areas of the tracks and nothing was located.
"There is no further information available from State or Darien at this time and no other incidents were reported. Officers remained in the areas as a precaution. Train service was temporarily suspended while officers were on the tracks but service has resumed."
Update 9:12 a.m.:
The chase of a man, reportedly armed, through Darien started at the Interstate 95 rest stop when a witness thought he saw a man with a gun in a restroom, according to Darien police.
The matter was reported to police sometime before 6:30 a.m., and state police, the lead agency in handling the incident, were joined by Darien police and, when the search or chase moved to the New Haven Line railroad tracks, Metro-North police as well.
Later in the morning, police were searching for the man in Norwalk.
Original article:
A report of an armed man chased by state police caused school officials to put Darien High School and Middlesex Middle School in lockdown and delay opening the town's elementary schools by 90 minutes.
By 8:50 a.m., the search for the man had shifted to Norwalk, according to Darien police.
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