UPDATE | Man apprehended at BHS has been released from Kitsap Mental Health

The man taken into custody Thursday after making threats and refusing to leave the Bainbridge High School parking lot has been released from the care of Kitsap Mental Health, officials at the Bainbridge Island School District said Friday.

The man taken into custody Thursday after making threats and refusing to leave the Bainbridge High School parking lot has been released from the care of Kitsap Mental Health, officials at the Bainbridge Island School District said Friday.

School officials sent a media alert and an email to parents Friday that the Bainbridge Island Police have delivered a no-trespass notice to the man involved in the 90-minute standoff that occurred in the school parking lot Thursday.

The incident began after a student told school staff that a car was parked in an assigned space in the senior parking lot.

Principal Jake Haley said in an email message to parents and students late Thursday that a campus security officer approached the car but backed off after the man displayed a Swiss Army pocket knife, at which point, school staff called 911.

Police arrived and determined a school lock-down was unnecessary. The man was peacefully apprehended after about 90 minutes and transferred to Kitsap Mental Health.

“We obtained a pick-up order from (Kitsap Mental Health) based on his actions,” said Bainbridge Island Police Chief Matthew Hamner.

Haley, the principal at BHS, said in his email message that the man is a former student and had previously posted messages about the school on Facebook in addition to the incident at the school.

He said that several students had come to the school office a few days earlier to report a “random person” had sent Facebook friend requests to students at the school. The Facebook account later posted possibly threatening messages, including a photo of an open Swiss Army pocket knife.

School officials named the man who was taken into custody. (Because the man has not been booked into jail or charged with any crime, the Review is not identifying the man by name.)

Officials also said security has been ramped up at island schools.

“With concern regarding these circumstances, schools are on heightened alert, and there are key staff members monitoring activities in and around school campuses. In addition, the district has increased the number of supervisory staff on the main campus,” school officials said in an email to parents of students Friday.

The man has been seen in several locations on the island today, including on public roads near the high school.

However, school officials said he has not entered school district property.

The man drives a white Cadillac sedan, and school officials are asking islanders to call 911 if the man or his vehicle is sighted on school district property.

“BHS and district administrators continue to be in close contact with our police department, and we are working closely together to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” school officials said.