Stoneham Superintendent apologizes to upset parents for the handling of a recent arrest at school

STONEHAM, Mass. — Parents in Stoneham were upset and voiced their concerns at a School Committee budget meeting Thursday night.

“He was an armed pedophile trying to gain entrance into school,” said Andrew Dawson, a parent.

Dawson and several parents are angry that they were not immediately notified about a man arrested last Thursday after being on the South Elementary School campus with three knives.

“We cannot carry on like this if that guy had gotten into the building it would have been a disaster,” said Catrina Bridges a parent.

A special public comment period was added to the School Committee Budget meeting because so many parents were upset.

“We’re in a situation on a Thursday night when we should be talking about a budget crisis listening to you apologize again for your lack of communication,” said Bridges.

The police chief admitted that 39-year-old James McCarty did try to enter the school at one point.

“They never entered the building they did attempt to pull the door,” said Chief James O’Connor.

McCarty who was on the sex offender registry was spotted on campus by the school’s principal who called 911. The arriving officer followed him onto Main Street saying McCarty was yelling unintelligible words about the FBI and vampires.

The officer ordered him to stop and asked if he had any weapons.

“I told James to stop walking and asked him if he had any weapons. James stated he had knives,” according to court documents obtained by Boston 25.

Another officer who arrived at the school found two knives on McCarty. The court documents describe it as a green folding-style knife; the other was a large black hunting-style knife.

Police found a third knife nearby. The police chief apologized for not telling the parents sooner.

“There is absolutely no doubt you should have been notified Thursday of what happened. For that I apologize,” said Chief O’Connor.

Parents were also furious with the Stoneham School Superintendent David Ljungberg who told Boston 25 that new protocols are in the works.

“We are already looking at our training protocols for issues like this and communications protocols so yes we will need to make those changes,” said Ljunberg.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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