Charges: St. Paul school put on lockdown after man tried to get inside, threatened staff with machete

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

After a man tried to get into a St. Paul charter school through a locked door on Monday, he grabbed a machete and threatened two staff members with it, charges say.

St. Paul police were called to Hmong College Prep Academy at 1515 Brewster St., just east of Snelling Avenue, shortly before noon on a report of a man who was outside the school with a machete that he used to threaten several staff members.

When officers arrived, staff was “hysterically yelling and pointing” to a man, later identified as 40-year-old Marcelo Rubio Loredo, according to Wednesday’s charges. They said Loredo tried to enter the school.

Officers saw a machete in Loredo’s hand and told him to drop it. He replied in Spanish, then walked away with the machete. When other officers arrived, he ran.

Loredo ignored a Spanish-speaking officer’s commands to stop. He struggled with officers, who used tear gas to arrest him. Officers found the machete on a path.

A school staff member told police Loredo tried to open a locked door. Another staff member said he saw Loredo with his face pressed up against the glass of the locked door and told him to leave. Loredo gave the staff member “the finger” and kicked the door before going over to his bike and grabbing a machete, the charges say.

Loredo raised the machete over his shoulder in a swinging manner, which the staff member took as a threat, the charges say. The school was put on lockdown.

A school maintenance worker then encountered Loredo with the machete and tried walking him off the school’s property, but he raised it in a swinging manner over his shoulder twice, the charges say.

Loredo told an investigator in an interview that he had left his job and was looking for something to eat. He said he had the machete because he was working on a yard, the charges say.

When asked if he understood that people at the school would be afraid of him waving the machete around, Loredo didn’t answer. He accused police of taking his bike and money, and asked for an attorney.

Loredo was charged with two counts of felony threats of violence and remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $50,000 bail. Loredo, who has no permanent address, was granted a public defender, according to court records. The attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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