SUFFOLK, Va. — Thursday's Suffolk School Board meeting featured some tense moments from community members who voiced concerns over the lack of communication from the superintendent and school board chair about a recent incident where an intruder got inside Kilby Shore Elementary School.
On June 14, the last day of school, a man made his way into the school and barricaded himself in a bathroom with students in it, according to court documents.
Police say the intruder wasn’t armed and no one was hurt. However, video of the incident — first obtained by News 3 — shines a light on security gaps at the school.
WATCH: Suffolk school leaders won’t answer News 3’s questions about school intruder video
The video shows a staff member holding a door for students going outside when a man comes running from around the backside of the school and slips inside while the door is still open. He shuts the door and runs into a girl's bathroom with two students inside. The video shows that eight minutes passed before an officer arrived to help get the man out.
Vontrail Thorpe, the man presumed to be in the video, is now facing trespassing and abduction charges.
WATCH: Video shows man entering Suffolk school, barricading himself in bathroom with students
Since the June 14 incident, Superintendent Dr. John Gordon III and the school board have refused to answer our questions about plans to address the gaps in safety at Kilby Shores seen in the video.
WATCH: Parents react to Suffolk elementary school intruder on last day of school
Ahead of Thursday's meeting, News 3's Jay Greene attempted to ask Dr. Gordon about how someone got into the school and what's being done to improve security. Dr. Gordon didn't answer the questions and told Greene to wait to hear what he had to say in the meeting.
When delivering the superintendent's report at the meeting, Dr. Gordon addressed what happened at Kilby Shores, but used a large amount of time railing against News 3 for trying to investigate what happened.
He said the district and board will not discuss safety measures in the public eye.
"I don't understand why we are now expected to share what new safety measures have been put in place," Dr. Gordon said.
Dr. Gordon did say police walked the grounds of the Kilby Shores to understand how the intruder gained access.
Investigations
Suffolk school leaders won’t answer News 3’s questions on school intruder video
Brandon Randleman, a citizen volunteer for the School Safety Audit Committee, said communication with the board following the incident has not been fruitful.
"I am disappointed in leadership of the school board. And I'm disappointed in the leadership of the administration of Suffolk Public Schools. I have had working relationships with these individuals in the past," Randleman told News 3. "What bothers me the most is that when I questioned them about the safety of students and about the safety measures that need to be put in place... all of a sudden, I received silence. I was reprimanded by some of them."
On Thursday afternoon, hours before the meeting, News 3's John Hood showed the video to educators who feel changes need to be made before the start of next school year.
"We have drills for everything. We have active shooter drills, we have fire drills. We do all these things but we don't have an intruder drill," said Suffolk teacher Sarah Hutzler. "We can treat that similar to someone entering the building or whatnot but I think we've been blind to that happening and I think this brought it to light that this is one thing that we need to add to that list."
