Altercation led to Monday school lockdown, police say

By Dave Clark

Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008 | 2:20 p.m.

The sister of a woman arrested on a weapons charge Monday after a lockdown at Hank and Barbara Greenspun Junior High School says the woman was being stalked and feared for her life.

The school was put into lockdown Monday just before students were released for the day after the woman, whom police described as a parent with a gun, got into a dispute with a man in the school's parking lot, school police said.

Clark County School District Police Lt. Ken Young said the incident occurred about 2:15 p.m. — roughly the time children are dismissed from school. The lockdown lasted about 20 minutes, while other parents who came to pick up their children were made to wait.

Susan Vitz, 44, of Henderson was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school property, Young said. School police recovered a .45-caliber handgun, he said.

Young said Vitz was involved in an altercation with a man, though he declined to say whether it was an argument or fight. He said the man was not a parent.

The gun was not fired, and authorities remained unsure how the weapon caught the attention of another individual who reported the incident, Young said.

Vitz was being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $2,000 bail. Her first hearing is set for today.

Vitz's sister Sandy Sims, of Lebanon, Ind., said the story was more complex. Vitz owned a weapon to protect herself from a former boyfriend who is stalking her, Sims said.

"She has voicemails on her phone," Sims said. "He was standing in the street in front of her house yelling. He was banging on doors."

The gun, Sims said, was never taken out of the house until Monday.

"He knew exactly where she picks up (her child) every day," Sims said. "The more she's tried to cut him off, the more he has come over and threatened her."

Nonetheless, Sims characterized her sister's actions as a bad decision.

"She should've called police," Sims said.

Attempts to reach Vitz were unsuccessful.

Young, who declined to confirm Sims' version of the story, praised school officials' handling of the situation.

"They went on lockdown, so there was not a massive release of students," Young said. "I couldn't have written it better as to how they responded."

Young said he did not know whether any students were outside the building at the time of the incident. However, some parents were present.

Principal Beth Howe said the school was on lockdown from 2:09 to 2:31 p.m., preventing students from leaving during regular dismissal time at 2:11 p.m. During lockdown, students are kept in their classrooms.

"We wanted to follow emergency procedures to ensure the safety of the students," she said.

Diana Budzinki learned of the incident after her eighth grade daughter sent her a text message as she pulled into the school parking lot. She said she had been unable to receive any information on what transpired.

"They're still investigating it," she said. "That's what they're telling people. I have to go home and turn on the news and see what happened."

Dave Clark can be reached at 990-2677 or [email protected].