PLAINSBORO: Schools reopen; response to be reviewed

By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
   PLAINSBORO — Five schools in the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District were under lockdown for about two hours yesterday afternoon after two people were spotted in the area with guns.
   At about 1:05 p.m., motorists on Maple Avenue made the initial report of a man and a woman walking along the roadway on the southbound side of Maple followed by reports from other motorists who saw them walking west on Grover’s Mill Road, according to Lt. Joseph Duffy.
   Lt. Duffy said the couple was reported to be carrying two long firearms, which he suggested could have been either rifles or shotguns.
   West Windsor Sgt. Matthew Kemp said the two people looked to be in their early 20s. He said they were initially thought to be duck hunters because one was described as wearing an orange hunting cap, but Lt. Duffy said this was never confirmed because no duck hunters were found in the area.
   Within minutes of the reports, police arrived at the area and nearby schools High School North and South, Community Middle School, Millstone River School and Wicoff Elementary were put on lockdown as a precaution. The Montessori school was also on lockdown due to its proximity. Lt. Duffy said a minimum of two officers was posted at each school during the lockdown as police searched for the suspects.
   About 15 Plainsboro officers, eight West Windsor officers and two state police helicopters searched the area for about two hours. The Plainsboro Fire Department’s Marine Unit and the West Windsor K-9 Unit also searched the nearby woods and waterways to locate the suspects.
   At about 3 p.m., the search was called off indefinitely after police were unable to find and identify the couple. The schools in the Plainsboro jurisdiction were then released one by one in a controlled manner from the lockdown beginning with High School North and ending with Millstone River School, according to Lt. Duffy.
   According to an email from West Windsor Lt. Robert Garofolo, High School South was released at about 2:43 p.m. Police were present around all the schools to make sure the students were dismissed in a safe and efficient manner.
   Lt. Duffy said because there was no threat to the area and the search was called off, there was additional police presence at the schools on Wednesday morning.
   If the couple had been found, Lt. Duffy said police would have looked into Fish and Game regulations on the legalities of carrying hunting equipment in the open.
   However, he said police are not pursuing the search.
   Sgt. Kemp said police and school officials would be meeting Thursday, Feb. 7, to talk about the incident, evaluate the response and discuss how to improve it.
   ”Regardless of what happened yesterday, it still will give everyone a good idea of where we stand in our security plan,” said Sgt. Kemp.