By Katie Northcott, News Director
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, Coffee County Schools released a statement describing an incident that occurred during a Hickerson Elementary School field trip. The Manchester Police Department released a follow up statement on Thursday, Feb. 19 after completing its investigation into the incident.
Find Coffee County Schools’ statement here.
The Manchester Police Department’s statement is published below.
On February 18, 2026, at 12:07 p.m., the Manchester Police Department responded to the area of Fred Deadman Park after a report that a male subject had told a teacher he possessed a machete and a gun. Upon MPD’s prompt arrival, the bus, students, and staff members had already left the area and were enroute back to the school.
Officers conducted an extensive search of the area for an individual matching the description provided but were unable to locate him at that time.
A statement from Coffee County Schools, vetted by the Manchester Police Department, was released before the end of the school day while the investigation was still ongoing.
During follow-up interviews conducted with school staff, officers began piecing together the events. It was determined that an elementary class was on a field trip, eating lunch and playing on the playground, when they encountered the male subject described as appearing “happy”. He was sitting on a swing when a child approached and asked to use it. The man stepped away from the swing and began talking with the teacher. During their conversation, which was cordial and polite, he stated that he was homeless and lived under a bridge. The conversation continued about his living situation, and at some point in the conversation, he stated that he had a machete and a gun. He never stated it was on his person, he never displayed either weapon, never made any threats or used any threatening tone nor made any threatening actions towards the staff or students. After the brief interaction, the male subject walked away without incident.
The teacher communicated this interaction with the lead teacher, where a decision was made to immediately gather the students onto the bus. Law enforcement (Manchester PD) was notified once all children were on the bus and responded. Officers were on-scene within 3 minutes of receiving the call. Patrol officers, supervisors, CID and command staff responded to the area and conducted a thorough search, unable to locate the subject.
Later, with assistance from community members, officers located the male subject in town, not in the city park. He was polite and cooperative. He voluntarily consented to a search of his person and belongings. His campsite and belongings were not located in the city park. He showed officers that he had a machete; however, he was not in possession of a firearm. After the interaction, the male subject was allowed to continue on his way to his destination out of state.
Reference report #20260101893
The post Manchester Police Department Issues Statement on Hickerson Elementary Field Trip Incident appeared first on Thunder Radio.
