AMADOR COUNTY, Calif. — Pioneer Elementary School in Amador County was placed on lockdown Thursday morning because of a man with a shotgun walking around the back fence of the school.
The Amador County Sheriff's Office said the incident happened around 10 a.m. Officials got to the school within six minutes of getting the call. They said in a press release that all the students were inside and accounted for during the lockdown.
While deputies "established a perimeter around the school for security until additional resources arrived," a teacher and multiple students saw the man near the woods behind the school.
Sheriff's officials said they were able to find a person who matched the description in a nearby home. When sheriff's deputies went to the home of 61-year-old Michael Daniel Wilson, they said he was confrontational with deputies and did not cooperate.
Deputies found a loaded shotgun that matched the description of the gun provided to them as well as a loaded handgun outside of his home. When deputies detained Wilson, he admitted to deputies that he was the one behind the school and that "he was under the influence of illegal narcotics and alcohol at the time."
Deputies also found about 25 grams of methamphetamine, controlled substance paraphernalia, and more firearms when they searched his home.
Wilson was placed under arrest and charged with endangering a child, unlawful possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and resisting arrest, among other things.
"The Amador County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Pioneer Elementary Staff and Principal Carmen Glaister for their quick action in reporting the incident to the Sheriff’s Office and enacting the protocol set in place for an incident such as this," the sheriff's office said in the press release. "Their calmness, compliance, and recollection were pivotal in resolving today’s incident swiftly and safely."
Sutter County Sheriff's Office officials say that the suspect came out of the home peacefully after a standoff.
