Man causes chaos near South Jersey school sparking lockdown

🚨 Man goes berserk at South Jersey school
🚨 Police get flooded with 9-1-1 calls
🚨 Officers show great restraint taking him into custody

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (Gloucester) — A South Jersey school went into lockdown on Wednesday as a man raged outside the building.

According to Washington Township Police, their dispatch was flooded with calls about a man "running in and out of traffic, exposing himself, and punching cars on Pitman Downer Road.

That location is right across the street from the Orchard Valley Middle School. Police say the school went into "secure" mode while police tried to subdue the man. All students and staff were kept inside the building with the exterior doors locked to prevent any unauthorized entry.

"We want to assure our community that all students, teachers, aides and staff at OVMS remained safe throughout the incident," police said in a statement on Facebook.

Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik said in a statement that when officers arrived on the scene, they found 47-year-old John Laurino in a very agitated state.

"He verbally threatened arriving officers on the scene," Gurcsik said, "While officers were attempting to de-escalate the situation, the subject aggressively approached Officer C. Tarasevich and pushed him."

Officers were eventually able to subdue Laurino and arrest him.

The Washington Township Ambulance Squad was called to transport Laurino to a local hospital for evaluation.

"While being secured in the ambulance, the subject kicked a member of our ambulance squad in the face," Gurcsik said.

Investigators linked Laurino to a threat made against a business in Glassboro, police said. The suspect said he was coming to the business with a gun to shoot employees. The name of the business was not disclosed.

Laurino has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct.

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