School Swine Flu Letter Motivated Gunman: Cops

A former New York City police officer who walked into a suburban middle school with a handgun Tuesday and was wrestled to the floor by a school official was angry about a swine flu letter, authorities said.

South Orangetown Central School District Superintendent Ken Mitchell wrestled Cocker to the floor of his office, took the weapon and pinned him until police arrested him yesterday afternoon.

No one was injured at South Orangetown Middle School in Blauvelt, a bedroom community and hamlet of Orangetown about 20 miles north of New York City, authorities said.

The gunman, Peter Cocker, was arraigned Tuesday on six felony charges, including kidnapping, criminal use of a firearm, burglary and coercion. Supervising Assistant District Attorney Dominic Crispino told the judge Cocker threatened the superintendent with “deadly physical force” and threatened to shoot him “in the heart.”

Cocker, the parent of a student in the district, told Justice Paul Phinney his revolver wasn't loaded and he never intended to hurt anyone. He asked the judge to let him go home to his family, but the judge ordered him held without bail.

The gunman reportedly demanded Mitchell rewrite a letter he had sent parents the day before about the swine flu, the Journal News reported.

Cocker, 37, walked into the school at about 11:45 a.m., brushing past a security guard, who saw the gun in Cocker's hand and made an emergency call, police said.

Once inside the school building, Cocker headed to the South Orangetown Central School District's administrative offices, which are located on the campus, and confronted Mitchell, barricading the two of them in an office, police said.

A SWAT team and several police agencies sent units to the 800-student school, which was locked down. Officers tried to negotiate with Cocker, but when they heard the sounds of “violent struggle” they used a shotgun to blast their way through the office door, police said.

Authorities said that Mitchell had talked to Cocker to calm him down before wrestling him to the floor and taking the gun.

“He managed to pin him down, and right then the police were there and broke down the door to his office and took the man away,” said Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner.

He called Mitchell's actions “an incredible bit of bravery and heroism.” He described the superintendent as “not a very tall or aggressive-looking man. He's a slight guy, very unassuming.”

Police said Cocker, who lives in Tappan, retired from the New York Police Department in 2004.

Orangetown police Chief Kevin Nulty said that a letter from the district regarding swine flu may have played a part in the incident. He didn't elaborate.

Parent Eleanor Klepper said the front door at the middle school is usually unlocked during the day and has a security guard posted there. Anyone entering must sign in.

District spokeswoman B.J. Greco couldn't explain how Cocker got past the security guard, but police commended the man's actions.

“I think the security guard did do the right thing,” Nulty said, adding that the school and police followed an emergency plan developed in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

“At no time did  we believe a child was in danger,” Nulty said.

The school was locked down until about 2:20 p.m. Parents could then pick up their children after signing for them.