LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Two area grade schools were put on lockdown today (May 7) after receiving a complaint of a possible threat to the school.

On Thursday, May 7, 2009 at around 8:50a, Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to Hershey Elementary School after a student’s mother informed them that the student’s non-custodial father was going to try to remove the children from the school and that he might possibly be armed with a handgun.

Melissa Paxton, 33, of Lafayette was arrested and charged with False Informing.

As a precaution both Hershey Elementary School and the adjacent East Tipp Middle School were placed on lockdown while the investigation was pending. After approximately three (3) hours, the father, Richard Wireman (42) of Lafayette, was located in Plymouth, Indiana. He was arrested on an unrelated civil attachment (79D03-0207-JP-135) and is currently being held on a $1000.00 bond in the Marshall County Jail.

When detectives determined that Wireman had not been in the Lafayette area, the custodial mother, Melissa Paxton (33) of Lafayette, was arrested for False Informing as a Class a Misdemeanor and is she is currently being held in the Tippecanoe County Jail on a $250.00 cash bond.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Sergeant James D. Caldwell and Detective Thomas Lehman.