South Middle School, Mountainview Elementary and the Monongalia County Technical Education Center were on a working lockdown Wednesday while authorities continued the search for murder suspect Chance Austin Williams. Police have warned he could be armed and dangerous.
Monongalia County Schools spokeswoman Teresa Nass said the schools will be stay on lockdown until the case is cleared.
Mon Schools made the call to impose the lockdown of the three buildings after learning of the manhunt on social media and news outlets: There was no direct, official notification from the sheriff’s department, the district said.
Williams was last seen Tuesday walking in the White Avenue area near Marilla Park, which is near the three schools in question.
A warrant for first-degree murder has been obtained against Williams, 23, of Morgantown.
The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department is formally charging him in the slaying early Tuesday of a Fairmont man, whose body was found in a car found wrecked in a ditch near Green Bag Road. Investigators said the fatal injuries of Jamey Lynn Corbin “were not consistent” with those caused by a vehicle crash. The 47-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
Through evidence, they were able to determine, they said, that Williams, had also been in the car.
The idea of the working lockdown, Nass said, is the keep doors secured at all times, while also keeping students and staffers inside for the run of the school day.
In the meantime, all schools in the district are outfitted with ballistic glass and “man trap” entryways that sequester visitors before entering.
There are also video cameras, intercoms and other measures mandated through the Safe Schools Act.
Students at Mon’s three public high schools must pass through high-tech weapons detectors on their way to class every morning.
And teachers in the district continually receive instruction through the ALICE Training Institute, also.
The program with the name that is an acronym for “Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate,” is designed for active-shooter situations on campus.
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