Man Breaks Into Buffalo School, Approaches Kids & Assaults Staff

Law enforcement all over Western New York have had a busy time lately. Not only are Erie County Sheriffs, New York State Police, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision dealing with a major issue at Collins Correctional Facility, the Buffalo Police Department is dealing with a scary and weird situation at an elementary school on Buffalo's eastside.

According to WIVB-TV, a 30-year-old Illinois man named Shane Cronin allegedly broke into the Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School, which is attached to the Buffalo Museum of Science in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Park, and approached a student and assaulted the schools assistant principal when he was approached.

BPD officers were called around 12:30 pm while class was in session to help with the incident. When police arrived on scene, Cronin fled the school and was trying to hid inside the Buffalo Museum of Science. When officers found Cronin, they were able to take him into custody without any further issues. The school officials was treated for minor injuries and the students are being provided with support from Buffalo's Crisis Support Team.

This incident gets weirder when Cronin was taken to the Erie County Holding Center as he was being processed by deputies. It's being reported by the Buffalo News that he went on to assault several members of the Erie County Sheriffs Department, sending at least 4 deputies to the Erie County Medical Center.

These activities have landed Cronin in a bunch of trouble. He's been charged with assault, burglary, harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child for what happened at the school, plus four more counts of assault and four counts of obstructing governmental administration for what occurred at the county jail.