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Parents of students at Ludlow-Taylor expressed concern about an apparent breakdown in communication after a fatal afternoon shooting near the elementary school.

“There is nothing more important to the work that we do — it even trumps learning for us — than the safety of your children,” principal Carolyn Cobbs said. Cobbs was not in the building when a 29-year-old D.C. man allegedly shot and killed Andre Pierce Joyner of Fort Washington, Md. in the 600 block of Morris Place NE. The principal said she received a phone call at 3:30 p.m. from a designee about the shooting and then called D.C. Public Schools Central Office, which in turn notified police, the superintendent and other parties that needed to be contacted.

Some staff and students heard a shot, Cobbs said, including a group of children on the early childhood playground. Children were immediately taken inside.

Cobbs said a “soft” lockdown was initiated, with parents and children on the sidewalk “whisked in” before the doors were locked. Central Office created a letter and sent it to Cobbs, who added information she collected through phone calls. Cobbs said it was emailed to parents at 8:23 p.m. A second letter was sent on Sunday informing parents to send their children to school.

Many parents expressed concerns that they were not given information in a timely manner.

“You had a lot of families who were completely panic stricken with absolutely no information … for five-plus hours after the incident,” one parent said. “All parents wanted to know … was that our children were safe.”

Another parent, who said she was present when the shooting happened, said she received conflicting information that an arrest was made.

“I’m really freaked out,” she said.

First District Commander Jeff Brown said he was not aware how the bad information was distributed. Five minutes after incident happened, there was a person of interest, Brown said. An arrest did not occur until Monday.

Another parent said there are larger safety issues with the Northeast D.C. neighborhood.

“As the summer heat comes, we know the violence will come,” a parent said, adding that she’s concerned

Brown said police have “realigned” they coverage to provide “a little more presence” in the neighborhood on bikes and on foot.

Members of the Metropolitan Police Department were at the school on Monday, Brown said, and DCPS provided additional support for the week. When asked if an officer could be assigned to the school, Brown said that traditionally does not happen but they will continue to have roving officers.

“I’m confident that will be sufficient,” he said.

Cluster I Instructional Superintendent Harry Hughes defended not releasing detailed information immediately after a lockdown, but said there will be changes going forward.

“When a school goes into lockdown, parents should not be given in the moment information … because, believe it or not, that creates more confusion,” Hughes said, adding that the school is the safest place for students to be during a lockdown. “Parents will start to descend on the school. … You’re potentially putting yourself in danger. You’re potentially ruining a crime investigation.”

However, Hughes said officials “have used this incident as a time of reflection.”

“We should have sent out basic information after the lockdown ended,” Hughes said. “We have put in mechanism to make sure that happens next time.”

Other parents expressed concerns about a lack of information about what their child saw or what they were told.

“I got details about what my child heard or saw from my child,” a parent said, adding that she believes that information should come from the school. “It should not come from the student.”

“I really needed those resources, that information when my four-year-old woke up at 4 a.m. on Saturday with a nightmare,” a parent said. “I didn’t have great answers for him. I didn’t know he was on the playground.”

Nicole Frazier, a social worker at the school, said professionals spoke to the children on Monday. “There was particular dialogue selected based on their needs,” she said, adding that details were not shared. “We adapted that for pre-k students.”

This alarmed one parent who wanted to know what the children were told before they were spoken to.

“That’s why we all made a very selective and purposeful choice,” Frazier said, to which the parent replied, “What about our choice?”

One mother agreed that there needs to be controlled communication. “My daughter who doesn’t even go to this school is scared to come here,” she said. “My kids are really shaken.”

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