Timberlane Regional High and Middle schools were placed on a temporary lockdown Tuesday afternoon after a shoplifting incident at the Plaistow, N.H., Home Depot store.
Plaistow police received a call at 1 p.m. from loss-prevention employees who said a shoplifting suspect brandished a pocket knife when they tried to stop him at the exit of the store in the Pentucket Plaza on Route 125.
According to Plaistow police, the suspect escaped on foot, fleeing into the wooded area behind the plaza. No injuries were reported.
Plaistow officers and a K-9 unit from the Salem, N.H., police responded to the area of Blossom and East roads. Because the suspect was believed to have headed in the direction of the Timberlane Middle and High schools, police notified school staff and the decision was made to order a precautionary “shelter-in-place.”
The suspect’s track ultimately led in the direction of Aspen Drive in Atkinson, N.H., but he was not located.
Police described the suspect as a white male, approximately 6’2” tall, with scruffy looking facial hear, last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans with a ripped knee.
In addition to the Salem K-9 unit, Plaistow officers were assisted by Atkinson, Hampstead, and the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident is under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Joan Marsilia at 603-382-6816.