Clay Today staff
GREEN COVE SPRINGS -- A SWAT standoff early Friday morning involving a man with a gun inside a home near Clay High School ended peacefully, the Clay County Sheriff's Ofice said.
Emmit Parrish was taken into custody without incident after walking out the backdoor of his home at the urging of police negotiators. The school was closed during the standoff, which began about 3:30 a.m. when the Sheriff's Office was notified of a man inside the home was distraught who was armed with a rifle. No one was injured.
No students were in danger at any time. School officials directed all Clay High faculty and students to the Clay County Agricultural Fairgrounds about a mile west of the school until the incident was concluded.
During the standoff, State Road 16 was closed in both directions near the home.
The Sheriff's Office said Parrish, 53, and his wife had an domestic altercation at their home prior to the standoff. He is charged with domestic battery by strangulation.
Court records show Parrish also had arrests for domestic battery in 1997 and 2008.
All of the school's 1,386 students were in class by about 9:30 a.m., School district spokesperson Darlene Mahla said. Students whose parents chose to keep them at home will be excused.
“I want to commend the Sheriff’s Office in how they responded to this situation, as well as the administration of Clay High, for handling this situation so smoothly and effectively. Through this difficult and uncertain situation, everyone did as they were trained to do and they did it extremely well,” Superintendent of Schools Ben Wortham said in a released statement.
March 19th 2010 - 9:50AM