MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis elementary school closed Friday following a break-in and apparent vandalism overnight.
Posts on social media alerted parents and students to the incident at the Sheridan School, located at 1201 University Avenue Northeast. "We are so sorry to have to share with you that school at Sheridan will be closed today," reads a Twitter post from the Minneapolis Public Schools. "A break-in last night impacted several classrooms."
A district spokesperson said Minneapolis police alerted them to the break-in. Staff members arrived to open the building Friday morning and found two classrooms badly damaged. "While the majority of the building is fine, classes were cancelled because the police were still on site investigating," said an email from communications staff member Julie Schultz Brown.
Minneapolis police say they responded to reports of an alarm going off and a suspect observed on camera inside the school. Officers located the male suspect outside Sheridan and took him into custody.
Tweets from the school explained that students and staff are not required to participate in online learning Friday. Instead, they're "encouraged to read a book, care for one another and be back to school on Monday," the district said.
District leaders also apologized to families and students for the inconvenience caused by today's closure.
MPS just kicked off the school year on Thursday, Sept. 8 for students in grades 1-12. Pre-K and kindergarten classes around the district started Friday.
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