The Durango Police Department asked three public schools to lock their doors Wednesday afternoon when a man in a bulletproof vest was seen on Durango High School’s campus, according to law enforcement.
A Durango High School administrator saw the man in the vest, without a shirt, and black cargo pants near the tennis courts behind the school, said Durango police spokesman Ray Shupe. The man disappeared before law enforcement could make contact, according to police.
School administrators asked the liaison officer to lock the doors around noon, Shupe said. Patrol officers were called to help search for the suspect. A call to parents warned of a lockout at Durango High School, Miller Middle School and Needham Elementary School.
The Durango Police Department apprehended the suspect within 20 minutes of the non-emergency call to parents. School administrators lifted the lockout around 1:20 p.m.
Law enforcement identified the man as Brett Santistevan, 34, of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Shupe said.
Durango police do not plan to charge Santistevan with a crime, Shupe said.
Law enforcement responded Tuesday to a report of Santistevan on a Durango Transit bus with a bulletproof vest.
Santistevan didn’t threaten people or law enforcement and has not committed a crime. Durango police asked crisis workers with Axis Mental Health to evaluate his well-being.
“It’s odd behavior,” Shupe said. “In this day and age, you can’t show up on a school campus in a bulletproof vest and not get a call.”
The school district’s announcement to parents said:
“Please note that your children are not in danger. This is being implemented as a precautionary measure to ensure their safety. A lockout means we lock the outside doors to the school but school activities continue as usual.”
