New Britain High School was put on precautionary lockdown on Thursday after a teacher spotted someone wearing a clown mask lingering by school grounds.
When a teacher supervising outdoor class activity noticed two people in a car on Mill Street, the administration was immediately notified when the teacher noticed one of the occupants had on a clown mask, superintendent Nancy Sarra said.
To ensure students' safety amid the threatening clown craze sweeping the nation, the school was put on lockdown and police were notified, the superintendent said.
The school's security cameras were able to take pictures of the car and its passengers and New Britain Police later apprehended Mary Vega, 35, and Johnston Cox, 40, Sarra said.
The pair was charged with second-degree breach of peace and their bond was set at $10,000 each.
After Vega and Cox were apprehended, the school was placed on a "soft" lockdown, which allowed students to walk throughout the school building but no one was allowed to enter or exit. Campus safety officers were standing by all entrances and exits, according to Sarra.
By 11 a.m., the lockdown was lifted and parents were notified.
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Last week, school officials in New Britain were in contact with police over creepy clown social media posts and said there would be an extra police presence in all neighborhoods to ensure students feel safe walking to and from school.
“Our staff is responding quickly to all possible threats that are brought forward,” Sarra said in a statement.
She urged that students intending to bring weapons to school to protect themselves need to understand that it is a violation of the school district’s rules to bringing weapons to school.
