EL MIRAGE, Ariz. — Kids are back on campus at an El Mirage Elementary School Monday after their school was put on lockdown Friday morning.
Thompson Ranch Elementary School was put on lockdown after police said they received a call about a suspicious person at the school at 10:30 a.m.
Police said a man who was believed to have a handgun unsuccessfully attempted to gain access to the campus through an exterior door. The campus immediately went into lockdown, and police say the man fled, never having gained access to the building.
El Mirage Police said while officers continued to work on clearing the campus, parents began to arrive at the school while it was still in lockdown status.
Police said several parents attempted to force entry into the buildings past officers. It was at this time a man began an altercation with officers. Police say another man and a woman joined in the altercation. A video posted to social media shows two men being tased by officers.
Authorities said the two men, later identified as Vincent Castaneda, 22, and Jonathan Vincent Davis, 22, were taken into custody. The woman, later identified as Darlene Gonzales, 48, was transported the hospital to be treated for injuries she sustained in the scuffle.
In an interview with 12News, before her pending charges were announced by El Mirage police, Gonzales said she and her older son, Vincent Castaneda, were trying to get her daughter from school Friday afternoon when she said things took an unexpected turn.
RELATED: 'It was really, really horrible': Parent describes scene at El Mirage school during lockdown
"I got a text from my daughter, she said. 'Mom, we're on lockdown right now and it's not a drill. There's somebody on campus trying to get in and he has a gun.' I told her to pay attention, listen to directions that mom is on her way, I'm not far."
Gonzales got to the campus and was told by police where to park and where to wait, in a spot across the street from the school.
She saw an officer come after her son Vincent, which is when things escalated.
"I put my hand in front and said hey, what are you doing? Why is this happening from that moment the commotion got real," she said. "I was trying to de-escalate what was happening and at the same time I was thinking they're going to hurt my son so I said, please listen."
A video posted on TikTok and Instagram shows the chaos
It shows an officer trying to grab her son, when people jump in to separate them. You then see an officer grab Gonzales by the arms and lead her off camera. She said that's when she was thrown to the ground.
At the same time, the handgun that belonged to Gonzales' son Vincent dropped to the sidewalk, which prompted officers to tase him.
"I got thrown," she said. "I felt like I lifted off the ground and when I fell the first that I hit my head and I bounced up and then the rest of my body, I blacked out for a very short amount of time."
Gonzales was taken on a stretcher to a nearby ambulance and was taken to a hospital. Her son Vincent was arrested and booked on several charges, including a weapons violation and obstruction.
Police said Davis is facing disorderly conduct charges.
Some parents had mixed reactions Monday to how the incident was handled.
“I feel like the principal and the staff did a really good job of how they handled it,” Daiquan Williams, a brother of a student, said.
Williams said his little sister did not go to school Monday.
Alyssa Jones, a parent of three students at Thompson Ranch Elementary School, said her kids didn’t want to go back to class and wanted to see a meeting held regarding Friday’s lockdown.
“I just have all these questions going through my mind wondering what the protocols are. They’re saying that they’re following them, but it didn’t seem like they did. Didn’t seem like they knew where to go, where to take the kids. It was just a lot of confusion,” Jones said.
The school released the following statement to 12News:
"Dysart is proud that all safety protocols were followed and worked as designed to keep our Thompson Ranch students and staff safe and secure on Friday. The incidents evolved quickly within a matter of minutes, and we applaud our staff and first responders for their prompt response. Today we had our district crisis team on campus to provide support for students and staff that needed to speak to a counselor or get additional support services.
With safety as Dysart’s top priority, we are continually evaluating our protocols to ensure they are designed to keep our students, staff and campus environments safe and secure. Every situation is dynamic and requires a continual effort to balance our focus on immediately responding to the compounding situations as they occur, and keeping families informed as quickly as possible. It is important for parents to know that during emergency situations, Dysart only utilizes official communication channels to communicate with parents. These include email, phone, and/or text messages, depending on each parent's selected communication preferences.
For security purposes, we are unable to share specific details on our action plans and protocols, but parents should know that every Dysart school has an emergency response plan in place that has been reviewed and vetted by local police and fire officials, and meets the guidelines set forth by the Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona Division of Emergency Management."
Officers were able to locate the suspect, and he was taken into custody as well, police said. He is being evaluated by mental health professionals, and criminal charges are pending. However, police said that man is not being identified yet.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.