Administrators and staff at Taylor Intermediate School, Taylor Elementary School and local law enforcement had their school safety training put to the test on Wednesday, March 7.
The incident began with a phone call to the Snowflake-Taylor Police Department (STPD) at approximately 11:15 a.m. that morning of a possible prowler in a backyard. A local resident told police that there was someone in her neighbor’s backyard wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with a maroon T-shirt over it. Police responded to the area and checked the neighborhood but did not locate anyone.
Then at approximately 12:30 p.m. the police received a call about a suspicious person leaving the school grounds at Taylor Intermediate School. Initial reports stated that the suspicious person had a gun or a gun case. Officers arrived in the area immediately and all Taylor schools as well as the Northern Arizona Academy were placed under lockdown.
Officers from the Navajo County Sheriff’s Department and Arizona Department of Public Safety also responded to assist. Officers were unable to locate anyone in the area but remained at the Taylor Schools until buses were loaded and the students departed the schools. “I cannot say enough about the response from the supporting agencies,” said STPD Chief Larry Scarber.
At approximately 3 p.m. another call came into the STPD that a person matching the description from the school incident may be hiding in the bushes or behind utility boxes at the LDS chapel on Centennial Blvd. STPD Lt. Robert Martin was able to locate the person matching the description given by the school. The suspect, identified as 19-year-old Cory Frost, refused to respond to the officer’s commands but was eventually taken into custody.
Frost was found in possession of a black case containing an older style VHS camcorder. It was later found to be an item missing from the home in the original burglary call. It was noted that the case looks very similar to that of a gun case. No firearms were found but the suspect did have ammunition in his possession. Frost was arrested and charged with burglary, theft, trespassing, possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked into the Navajo County Jail.
It is believed that there was no threat to the schools and that this suspect had no ill intention towards the students. The situation did provide an opportunity to test the training that school staff and law enforcement have received for a school shooting situation. “We had a very realistic lockdown that took place that lasted close to two hours,” said Scarber.
Snowflake Unified School District Superintendent Hollis Merrell said at the monthly board meeting on March 8, “We have always had plans in place. Yesterday we had an opportunity to practice them. Our staff and principals did everything like they should have. I commend them for that. We will continue to have trainings.”
