Royalton Man Arrested After Standoff That Forced Elementary School Lockout

Reed Allen Clark (Credit: Morrison County Sheriff’s Office)

A Royalton man has been arrested following a standoff that forced Royalton Elementary School to go into a lockout on Wednesday.

The standoff started in the morning when the suspect, 37-year-old Reed Allen Clark, allegedly fled from police at his house to arrest him for outstanding warrants. He reportedly climbed onto the roof of his house and refused to come down despite several hours of negotiations, and later the deployment of multiple chemical and organic irritants to the roof to try and coax him down.

Authorities say at about 9 p.m., Clark tried to jump from the roof to a shed and flee. As a SWAT team closed in, he again reportedly got onto the roof and injured his arm in the process. Clark then reportedly complied with orders and climbed down a ladder to authorities and was taken into custody without further incident.

Classes at Royalton Elementary continued during the lockout, and arrangements were made with the school to allow safe release of students at the end of the day.