Clarence, N.Y. (WBEN) - Clarence Schools will be closed on Wednesday due to a search for a person of interest that took place in the area during the morning hours.
In a message to parents, the district said they were advised by local law enforcement to close school in order to give them adequate time to resolve the situation.
The Erie County Sheriff's Office said they were searching for David Cottom, Sr. following an incident in Clarence where he was driving a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed that nearly struck a Sheriff's vehicle along Main Street.
The Sheriff's Department said Cottom fled the scene when a traffic stop was attempted. The Sheriff's Office did not believe the suspect was a danger to the public, but did believe the individual was despondent.
The search took place in the Pineledge Drive and Winding Lane vicinity.
During their search, the Sheriff's Office received a call for a stolen vehicle, which was later found at around 9:26 a.m. EST in the City of Buffalo. The vehicle was later located on Prospect Avenue, but Cottom had fled the car, which prompted a search of the area.
The Sheriff's Department said after a brief search, Cottom was located by near Niagara and Maryland streets and taken into custody.
After Cottom was taken into custody, Clarence Town Supervisor, Pat Casilio praised the Clarence School District for their actions Wednesday morning to close its doors when they did.
"At the time the school was going to open, they did not know where the suspect was, so it was a great call by our school district to close the schools until he was found," Casilio said. "Both the Clarence school system, the state police and Erie County Sheriffs were communicating with me what was going on."
Although the Sheriff's Office did not believe Cottom was of a danger to the public, Casilio believes it was better to take the safe approach to any situation such as this.
"I think it was more of a precaution, but he was trying to flag cars down earlier in the morning," he said. "It was more overprecaution than anything else."
Now with the person of interest in custody, Casilio says Clarence Town Hall is back open to the public after locking its doors during the search.
