Armed Intruder Breaks Into Pasadena School

PASADENA, CA — A disconcerting break-in at a Pasadena school had the community rattled Friday.

Authorities are trying to get to the bottom of a break-in by an armed intruder, who picked the lock of a girl's restroom at St. Phillip the Apostle School, according to an email from Jennifer Ramirez, Principal of St. Phillip the Apostle School, that was obtained by ABC7. The intruder left a large knife behind in the restroom after the school's alarm was triggered Thursday at about 6 a.m. When school started, children found the knife in the bathroom.

The alarm sounded after the intruder spent about 15 minutes roaming the campus, and the suspect fled. Security footage from the school captured the suspect roaming the campus, but Pasadena police said it is too early in the investigation to release the security video of the incident or a description of the suspect.

In the email, Ramirez said students were never in danger.

A second email from Ramirez stated the suspect was not hiding in the girl's bathroom and no students or staff were on campus at the time of the incident.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.