Soose

CHICORA — A 27-year-old mother of two was arrested Wednesday on charges she lied when she notified Chicora Elementary School officials that her ex-boyfriend was headed there with a gun to pick up their son.

Ashley Rea Soose's telephone call shortly after noon was enough for the principal to immediately place the school on lockdown, authorities said.

Students and staff were shuttered inside the school on Route 68 for about an hour during which state troopers arrived and stopped the man. However, he had no gun or other weapon.

Eight hours later with the police investigation wrapped up, District Judge Lewis Stoughton arraigned Soose on two counts of terroristic threats, a felony.

Soose of Fairview Township also is charged with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. She remains in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail.

According to Superintendent Eric Ritzert of the Karns City School District, the incident began about 12:15 p.m. when Soose called the elementary school saying her former boyfriend was on his way to take their child and she feared he might be armed.

Principal Shane Spack spoke to Soose. He told police that the woman was crying hysterically and initially he had trouble understanding her.

Soose at one point claimed, “I'm barricaded in my house and he is going to come and take my son,” a police affidavit said.

She told Spack that she had custody of the couple's 5-year-old son.

Pressed by the principal if her son's father had a gun, she said he did, according to court documents.

Spack told police that he hung up the phone and put the school in lockdown. Police were notified about 12:30 p.m. They were told that the child's father “was angry and in possession of a firearm and was en route to the school,” the affidavit said.

The one armed guard at the school secured the front entrance while one of the two guards from Karns City High School came to assist in the situation. They kept the building secure until state police arrived.

State police troopers within minutes of arriving stopped the man and took him into custody about 1 p.m. It turned out he had no gun.

About 1:30 p.m., the school returned to normal operation.

While Soose remains in the county prison, her two children are being cared by her ex-boyfriend and his family, police said.

“From the school's side, we reacted appropriately based on what we were told,” Ritzert said.

Police also praised school officials for how they handled the lockdown.

“They did a fabulous job securing the facility,” said Trooper Gesuele Burello, the investigating officer.

Ritzert noted that the school district also got to use its emergency alert system for purposes other than weather-related delays and closures.

“This is the first time, I believe, we've had to utilize it with a perceived threat,” he said.

About 1:20 p.m., family members of students were notified of the situation via phone call, text or e-mail through the automated alert system that's been in place at the district for several years.