Bellwood security staff commended

Richardson

BELLWOOD — Superintendent Edward DiSabato commended district security personnel for a prompt response to a recent soft lockdown-triggering event during a Tuesday board meeting.

Early on April 26, a student at the high school noticed an unknown male “acting erratically” on campus grounds and alerted school security officers to intercept the individual. Security then notified the Bellwood Police Department, according to BA BluePrint reporter Abigail Eckenrod.

Daniel Joseph Richardson, 39, of Altoona was wearing full camouflage, a red beret and was accompanied by two pit bulls off leashes.

Officers arrived at the school about 8:30 a.m., where Richardson told them he was “special ops” and was to find a fiber optic line, court documents state. He appeared agitated and asked police if they were willing to die for their country, according to court documents.

At one point, Richardson got loud and talked about people with guns shooting up schools, then asked police if they were going to shoot him, police reported.

He reportedly resisted being handcuffed and tried to get his hands on an officer’s gun, court documents state. After being taken into custody, he was transported to UPMC Altoona, police said.

The dogs were secured and picked up by the Central Pennsylvania dog law enforcement officer, the BluePrint stated.

The incident triggered a temporary soft lockdown procedure for the high school — where students are still free to traverse the building while all exterior doors remain locked out of an abundance of caution.

DiSabato noted the “outstanding” job school security officers Tim Mercer and Jeff Hannah did, saying that they acted “quickly and efficiently” to address the situation.

While the students inside the building were not in any danger during the incident, DiSabato said, school security was able to be on the scene within minutes.

The district sent an email to families reassuring them that the situation was under control and classes would proceed as scheduled, the BluePrint reported.

According to DiSabato, while it is never ideal to have the building put into lockdown procedure, the event was gratifying in a way.

“It is rewarding, because we have spent a lot of time as a school practicing and preparing because you never know what you’re going to have to deal with,” DiSabato said, “…putting good use to some of our training and time on these procedures.”

On Monday, Richardson was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Paula M. Aigner on a felony charge of disarming a law enforcement officer, misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person and resisting arrest, and a summary charge of disorderly conduct.

Bail was set at $100,000 and he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for June 4 before Magisterial District Judge Carmine W. Prestia Jr.

In other news, Bellwood-Antis board members renewed agreements with Saint Francis University and Penn Highlands Community College to allow select BASD students to earn college credit across a number of different courses while still in high school.

According to DiSabato, these agreements give students an opportunity to challenge themselves academically, and get a head start on their college career.

“(They offer) challenging and rewarding educational programs to help get them started at the college level,” DiSabato said.

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.