Santa Rosa man arrested for alleged threats against Penngrove Elementary
The Sonoma County Sheriff on Tuesday announced the arrest of a Santa Rosa man in connection with a threat that locked down Penngrove Elementary School late Monday morning.
According to a Facebook post by the sheriff's office Tuesday afternoon, deputies were called to Penngrove Elementary School at 11:36 a.m. for a possible school threat. Authorities determined that the threat was specific to the school.
"Our primary concern was for the safety and well-being of the students and staff involved. The decision was made to lock down the school to ensure the safety of everyone on campus," the post read. Additional law enforcement responded to the school including the Solano County Sheriff's Office helicopter, deputies, detectives, K9 units and SWAT team members.
Once the school was determined to be safe, authorities evacuated the school classroom by classroom as students and staff were taken by bus with a deputy escort to the reunification point at Rancho Adobe Fire's Penngrove station. Authorities said the process "ensured every student was accounted for and parents were able to efficiently pick up their children."
Detectives investigating the threat determined the suspect was likely out of the area and worked to learn the suspect's exact location. Authorities identified the suspect as 47-year-old Santa Rosa resident Kevin Harrington and determined he was likely in the South Lake Tahoe area.
Sonoma County authorities received assistance from South Lake Tahoe Police and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to find Harrington, who was located and arrested in Nevada by Douglas County Sheriff's Deputies. Detectives responded to Douglas County to continue their investigation and gather further evidence.
Harrington has been booked into the Douglas County Jail for felony criminal threats and possession of a stolen vehicle and is being held on $500,000 bail as authorities work to extradite him to Sonoma County.