Dunbar Middle School was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning after a man who appeared to be mentally ill came to the school.
Between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., the man was buzzed into the building with a group of students who were arriving late, said Principal Amon Gilliam.
After asking a teacher where the office was, the man told a clerk in the office that he wanted to use the school intercom to sing songs, Gilliam said.
Gilliam said he saw the man speaking to the clerk and asked if he could help.
"I could quickly tell something wasn't right," Gilliam said.
Gilliam said he then cleared out the office and contacted the school Prevention Resource Officer.
The man made illogical statements and told Gilliam he wanted to use the intercom, and became insistent when refused, Gilliam said.
"He asked and I told him he could not do that," he said. "He was visibly upset."
The man also told Gilliam that he needed to tell the kids Justin Bieber was there to sing to them, Gilliam said.
Detective J.A. Payne of the Dunbar Police Department, who was not there but often serves as a spokesman for the department, said earlier in the day that he understood the man believed he was Justin Bieber, but Gilliam said he didn't think the man actually believed it.
"He was all over the place," Gilliam said.
Gilliam said the school was placed on lockdown immediately after he begin speaking to the man. The lockdown lasted for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Symptoms of mental illness are not associated with crime, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. In fact, those with mental illness are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence.
Payne said the lockdown was more of a precaution and not based on serious concern that the man was a threat.
The man was taken to a local hospital for an evaluation and the lockdown was lifted.
Payne said the lockdown was only an "interior lockdown," meaning the hallways were cleared and students were kept in their classrooms.
Payne said he believed the man was off his medication, although he couldn't say for sure.
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