Gunman, standoff in Navarre
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Pam Brannon/Gulf Breeze News The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office deputies block streets around Holley-Navarre Primary School Sept. 20 for over three hours with the school in lockdown due to a hostage situation in a nearby home.

When a 38-year-old Ft. Walton Beach man allegedly decided last Thursday to attempt to kill his ex-girlfriend then kill himself, he didn't realize how many lives in the Navarre community he would be affecting that day. He put three Navarre schools into lockdown mode when SWAT teams from two counties were called to a home within a block of Holley- Navarre Primary School to stop a hostage situation and possible murder-suicide.

After the ex-girlfriend escaped the house, police kept the armed man inside negotiating for three hours until police could talk him into surrendering without anyone being injured. When Lyndal Wilkins was taken into custody he had a bag with a sawed off shotgun in it, along with several rounds of ammunition, handcuffs, rope, gasoline, lighter fluid, and knives, as well as matches. He also had a hand written note saying he planned to kill his ex-girlfriend then himself.

Wilkins

Wilkins had asked his exgirlfriend's current boyfriend to meet him in Ft. Walton Beach to turn over some of the woman's personal items. Once he knew the current boyfriend was gone from the Navarre home, Wilkins broke in the back door and came into the house at the corner of Escosa and Vizcaya Drive. The ex-girlfriend heard something suspicious in the house, and hid in a large box, sending a text message to the boyfriend who was headed to Ft. Walton Beach. The current boyfriend contacted the police, and when deputies arrived at the house she escaped through the front door when Wilkins went into a back room in search of her. Police eventually surrounded the house with deputies and SWAT teams for three hours of negotiations.

During those three hours, all students, faculty and staff at Holley-Navarre Primary, Holley-Navarre Middle and Holley-Navarre Intermediate Schools were going through the procedure of what most students thought was a lockdown "drill", staying in small rooms - like rest rooms or closets - for long periods of time, as well as eating lunch in those small locations. When some students returned to classrooms at the primary school, teachers kept the students sitting on the floor while doing their studies for the rest of the day.

Holley-Navarre Primary School Assistant Principal Richard Hardcastle said they received a call from law enforcement to go into lockdown mode around noon, and within 30 seconds they had exterior doors to the school locked, and all blinds drawn. "At that time the Sheriff's Office told us the house that the man with the gun was in had not been secured yet. They were concerned that he might try to escape and head into the school, either to get hostages or try to get through our school and into one of the other nearby schools, since the three schools right here are so close." The Primary and Intermediate schools, for example, are separated in the back only by a small playground and some sidewalks. Then, once the crime scene house was secured, the concern became that perhaps there would be bullets flying near the school during the standoff.

"We have a process we go through for a lockdown," Hardcastle said. "It is very organized, and we have practiced during drills. Everyone has a role to play. We announce over the intercom and everyone knows what to do. Part of the challenge is not frightening the children - we do not want to go into panic mode."

He said it was very helpful to have the resource officer from the sheriff's office come to the school and man the radio to alert them as to what steps should be taken periodically during the stand off. "She was such a help. She kept contact with the officers at the crime scene, and would tell us when it was safe to move students back to classes."

Hardcastle said the primary school students in the rooms along the front of the school were immediately moved to the back of the school, and all students were sent to small rooms, like restrooms, and closets. "Some students had not eaten lunch yet, so when we decided it was safe enough for adult staff to move in the halls, the cafeteria staff went to work in the kitchen. Then lunches were brought on carts to the rooms."

He said when it was nearing time for dismissal, some officers from the crime scene came over to the school to assess the situation. They decided all students should be taken out the west side of the building, since the crime scene was on the east side, and cars picking up students should be detoured to the west side. "Buses waited at the middle school until all car riders were picked up, then they came to the West bus ramp and loaded students. The buses ended up leaving late, maybe by 30 minutes or so, but they all got loaded."

The day after the stand off, Hardcastle said the school staff began receiving surprise thank you's from parents in the form of flowers, trays of baked goods, as well as emails, phone calls and verbal thanks. "People keep telling us how much they appreciated that their children were not traumatized or stressed and were kept safe. We didn't expect this kind of reaction, but it's nice to see people appreciate all the work we've done to prepare for something like this happening. We are just glad it ended the way it did, without anyone hurt."