Police in Woburn and Lowell on alert following suspicious encounters at local schools – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

A string of suspicious, separate incidents involving individuals trying to enter local schools has police in several Mass. communities on alert and has even attracted the attention of federal law enforcement.

The most recent cases occurred this week when school officials in Lowell notified parents that three “unauthorized individuals” attempted to enter two schools on Tuesday, but were turned away by staff and reported to police.

Police described how in one case involving Moody Elementary School, two unidentified men approached the building, claiming to be with a cleaning crew. Meanwhile, at the Shaughnessy Elementary School, unidentified men approached and inquired about childcare, but were not able to get into the building.

In a statement, Lowell Public Schools said that it was their understanding that police had “recently been involved in similar incidents in other districts throughout the Commonwealth.”

Meanwhile, in Woburn, a separate incident occurred on Nov. 9, when a suspicious man attempted to get into the Goodyear Elementary School, but never did, leading to police being notified.

No connections between either incidents have been made. Meanwhile, a recent bulletin posted by the FBI mentioned the Woburn case, as well as another incident that occurred a month ago in Dedham.

The bulletin detailed how on Oct. 18, an unidentified man with a backpack approached a Dedham daycare claiming he was working for Verizon, but the company said no employees were working for them in that area that day.

7NEWS sources confirmed that the man has since been identified as a third-party contractor who was not considered suspicious.

Also detailed was a situation that occurred in Needham on Nov. 2, where authorities said an unidentified man entered a high school, walked around and and took photos and videos of doors and a PRIDE flag.

On Thursday, Needham police confirmed that the man was a local resident who had been spoken to about walking through a school during off-hours while school is not in session.

Tom Scott, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents told 7NEWS that staff everywhere need to remain vigilant when it comes to access to school buildings.

“Given the environment we’re in today, [better to] be safe than sorry in terms of making sure that people all know that it’s probably time to double-down and make sure that your security measures are all in place,” he said over the phone.

Other recommendations from officials include making sure that school doors are not propped open and that if ever you see something suspicious, say something to authorities.

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