A drunken, knife-wielding man caused an elementary school to be locked down after he showed the weapon to a school employee and casually walked down the hallway with it, authorities said.
Sherwood police were called shortly before 12:45 p.m. Wednesday to Sherwood Elementary School after an administrator watched the suspect pull a knife from his jacket and tell her, "Your security is not very good," according to an arrest report.
Valentine Gutierrez, 36, of North Little Rock was charged with criminal use of a prohibited weapon, threatening to commit an act of mass violence, public intoxication, third-degree assault and criminal trespassing. He was taken to the Pulaski County jail and held without bail.
Before police arrived and after the school was placed on lockdown, Gutierrez placed the knife into a trash can, the report stated.
Gutierrez showed the knife to an employee inside the front office after he had asked to see his kids, police said. After he left the office with the knife in his hand, the employee called for a security officer, according to the report.
The security officer, identified in the report as Tommy Delaney, later saw Gutierrez in the hallway and told him to stop. Gutierrez tried to walk away and Delaney grabbed him, police said. Gutierrez tried to punch Delaney, who took him to the ground and held him down until Sherwood police arrived, the report stated.
While he was being walked out of the school building, Gutierrez said, "I'm just here to see my kids one last time," according to police. After he was escorted outside, Gutierrez told police officers, "[The] knife wasn't for anyone here. It was for my ex-wife," the report stated.
Police said Gutierrez appeared intoxicated by the way he smelled and acted.
Gutierrez was arrested in July on a first-degree assault charge following allegations he tried to grab a police officer's handgun during an arrest for public intoxication. There were no court records associated with the charge.
In November, Gutierrez was involuntarily committed after he had consumed four bottles of vodka in two days and stabbed himself during a suicide attempt, according to court documents.
Metro on 01/24/2020