Two Murfreesboro Schools Placed on “Lockout” Monday for Man Reportedly Armed

Murfreesboro, Tenn. — (follow-up story) We have more news on an incident at not one, but two Murfreesboro City Schools that unfolded on Veterans Day. The MPD reported that a Murfreesboro man has been arrested for carrying a gun onto two Murfreesboro City Schools (MCS) campuses Monday. Officials report that no students or staff members were in any danger during the incident.

22-Year-old Austin Diller was arrested at his home on two felony warrants for possession of a firearm on school property.

Diller reportedly went to the John Pittard Elementary School campus around 11:28AM Monday morning (11/11/2024), looking for information about enrollment for a younger sibling. Diller then went to Erma Siegel Elementary School seeking the same information, according to the MPD. He was told that he could find the enrollment information online.

As Diller turned to leave, office staff noticed on the external camera that he was openly carrying a handgun in a holster. The school resource officer (SRO) was in a different part of the building and was notified. The 22-year-old left the school before the SRO made it to the entrance.

Since Diller’s location wasn’t known after leaving the school, all MCS schools and nearby private schools were placed on a soft lockout as a precaution. A soft lockout means no visitors were allowed inside the schools or any students outside.

Diller was tracked down with assistance from Crime Data Analysts in the MPD’s Real Time Crime Center using License Plate Reader cameras. Shortly after he was located, he was taken into custody and transported to the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center and placed under a $5,000 bond. Diller posted bond by 5pm on Monday evening, and remains free as he awaits his court appearance in the Rutherford County General Sessions Court, scheduled to take place on December 16, 2024.

Prior to his run-in with the law in Murfreesboro, Diller was involved in a traffic related incident in Williamson County. There, he was already scheduled to appear in the Williamson County General Sessions Court on December 6, 2024 for speeding, according to court records.

Below is the original story released early Monday afternoon on WGNS

Murfreesboro, TN - There have been all sorts of rumors circulating about an incident that occurred on Veterans Day at Erma Siegel Elementary School in Murfreesboro at 135 West Thompson Lane. Lisa Trail, the Murfreesboro City School's Director of Communications, cleared-up one of the rumors and told WGNS an individual was not attempting to break-into the school.

Trail commented that they want to always be transparent with the community and especially parents. She stressed that the school was placed on lockdown or lock-in.

Below is the text Murfreesboro City Schools sent to parents.

“Our school (Erma Siegel Elementary) was placed on lockout this afternoon due to a questionable individual on our campus. The lockout was precautionary allowing our School Resource Officer and the Murfreesboro Police Department to assess the situation.

While this did cause a brief interruption for our staff, the only interruption to the student's day was missing outdoor recess.

Once the situation was deemed safe, students and staff resumed normal activities.

We wanted to keep you informed about today's events and assure you that your child's safety remains our priority. Thank you for your understanding and support."

Lockout vs Lock-in - In case you're not aware of the differences between a lockout vs lock-in, pearhaps this will clarify the issue.

A lockout is when the school's exterior doors and windows are locked and secured to keep suspicious people outside. With a lockout, normal school activities continue inside the facility. In this case, a lockout ends when police deem the situation has passed.

A lock-in is when the safety issue is inside the school. That includes an unauthorized person being inside the school. During a lock-in both the students and staff remain in their classrooms and offices until the "all clear" is given at the administration level.

DISCLAIMER: All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The arrest records or information about an arrest that are published or reported on NewsRadio WGNS and www.WGNSradio.com are not an indication of guilt or evidence that an actual crime has been committed.