A Broward judge ordered David Burch held without bond
Thursday, saying he believed the 28-year-old man “intentionally
terrorized” children at a Fort Lauderdale elementary school when he
screamed and waved his arms at them.
Broward Circuit Judge John Hurley said he viewed Burch’s actions Wednesday near Bayview Elementary School against the backdrop of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting last week.
Twenty-two children ages 7 and 8 were
playing kickball on the field just south of the school when Burch, who
was wearing camouflage pants, “started screaming and jumping up and
down,” Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Rick Rhodes said in court. “The
physical education teacher had all the kids run back into the school for
their safety.”
Hurley, reading from a police report,
said the kids were playing when Burch approached the fence and began
“screaming in a very aggressive manner. One of the teachers observed
Burch create a high level of fear in the 22 children.”
Burch was later found by Rhodes in a wooded area near the school, Hurley added.
The judge noted that “the children
and the teacher and the employee there, they were all in a heightened
state of fear. And the backdrop to this is obviously what had just
happened in Connecticut, where all those children were killed.
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